Anyone who has been a stay at home mom knows it’s not easy. But many people who haven’t been involved assume it can’t be that hard. I mean, what’s so hard about taking care of a baby or a toddler or two? Don’t babies basically lay there? Don’t you have any kind of free time while they sleep?
It’s hard to describe what it’s like to those who haven’t experienced the almost constant demands of full-time practical motherhood. I’ve had many jobs in my life, from making fast food burgers to teaching in public schools, and nothing compares to being a mom. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great in a million ways, but it’s very difficult. My kids are all in double figures now, but I remember those early years of staying home with my little ones and feeling completely and utterly spent at the end of the day.
Many moms I know lament that their husbands can’t seem to understand why they are so exhausted when “all they do” is “just stay home” with the kids all day.
That’s probably why this dad’s photo of a steamy shower door resonates with so many.
It reads:
“I came home yesterday afternoon after 12 hours of work. I went into the bathroom to clean myself up and get ready for dinner. I noticed my daughter’s bathtub in the bathroom.
I asked my wife if she had put it in there and how she did it. He said he put her in as he had showered during the day. We kept talking about how good she was and how big she was getting and so on.
This morning I came home from the gym and turned on the shower to get ready for work. I turned to the door and saw my wife wiping the steam off the glass so she could see our little girl in the tub.
I literally just sat there and looked at the glass and smiled. I could see it, imagine it, it was like I was there in the room with them. I could see Heather just looking through the glass and making faces at Lottie as she smiled and played in her pool! I just melted!
It’s so crazy to me, how the smallest things can make me appreciate my wife so much. It’s the little sacrifices my wife makes for this family that would normally go unnoticed. From taking care of our daughter 24/7, to taking care of me, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the animals, and taking care of herself (yeah right, no time for that.)
It just makes me stop and think.I work hard. I work many days 10-12 hours, I get tired, I have stressful days and that is my right, as a home worker. Do I have the right to be fed by hands and feet when I go down??!
All she does is take care of a baby.Well, she would have to cook, and keep the house clean, the dishes washed, washed and made, the animals tended to… and I’m a man, did I mention my needs yet???
I mean seriously, he’s home all day after all!
Mannnnn… I can’t tell you how much that frosted glass means to me!
The fact that my wife can’t even take a shower without caring for someone else. caring for someone else’s needs. He doesn’t even have time to relax.
My wife doesn’t get to clock in, my wife doesn’t get the satisfaction of seeing a check deposited in the bank for her hard work, my wife doesn’t get to eat lunch with colleagues, my wife doesn’t just walk out and just take a deep breath.
This may just be a cloudy piece of glass to some, but to me it means so much more. It’s little things like that that don’t go unnoticed. It’s the little things like this that constantly remind me how mean she is. It’s little things like this that make me fall in love all over again, Heather Williams!
Thank you for being the amazing woman you are…it doesn’t go unnoticed!
I love you my Queen.” 👑 ❤️
The fact that he saw in that stained glass the sacrifices his wife makes being at home with their baby is wonderful.
I know some will say that this dad doesn’t deserve a cookie just because he’s seeing his wife, but so many moms would love to get that kind of recognition from their partners.
The reality is that when you are caring for a baby, you are “on” all the time. When the baby sleeps, you power you have the opportunity to do some housework. Or you perhaps close your eyes for a few moments to try to make up for the lack of sleep you had the night before from the baby waking you up to eat. Sometimes the child won’t stop crying and your nerves are on fire until noon. Sometimes it’s 2:00 in the afternoon, you’re covered in breastmilk and spit up, you haven’t showered, and you can’t tell where the time has gone. Once your baby is crawling or shrinking, you can’t take your eyes off them or they could literally die. There’s urine and poop and every other bodily fluid you can think of, all day, every day. It is non-stop attention, non-stop meeting of needs, non-stop love, but also non-stop work.
And then people ask you what you do all day.
More shower door recognition please, partners. Trust me, the mother of your children will appreciate it.
