Hi, Mom! It’s me!” Only God knows how many times I greeted my mother like that. Because, you see, I was one of the lucky kids. My mom was at home whenever I came flying through the door.
Some of my friends weren’t that fortunate. Their mothers had to work. Mine did, too, but her job let her stay at home. So for all practical purposes I had a full-time mom.
At the time I didn’t know just how blessed I was. Simple privileges, like going home for lunch, I just took for granted. It’s a cinch that no elementary school cafeteria ever served food that would compete with my mother’s. The ten-block scamper from campus to home was a small price to pay for Mom’s meat loaf or her pork chops.
I realize now that our family budget might not have been so crimped if Mom had clerked at J. C. Penney’s or kept books down at Schreiner’s Bank.
On the other hand, we probably ate better because she gardened and canned beans. And we certainly dressed better because she stayed home and tailored most of our wardrobes. I know we were happier because she was there at home. All the time. Whenever we needed her.
Don’t take me wrong. I have no axe to grind against ladies in the marketplace. I’m just glad my mother stayed home. I do wonder if young mothers who let somebody else raise their kids while they work just so they can live in a bigger house or drive a newer car won’t live to regret their choice.
In 1987 Ellen Wilson Fielding gave up a prestigious job she had struggled to obtain. After some long days of introspection and prayer, she decided to step down as book editor of the Wall Street Journal to become a full-time mother. At the time I remember being impressed by the reasons she gave for her decision.
Reflecting on her new “job” Fielding wrote, “The essence of motherhood is the acceptance of God’s offer to share in the creation and development of another human being. The question was not whether that job [of being a mother] was good enough for me, but whether I was good enough for the job.”