Mommy Talk 4

July 16: What sacrifices have you made as a SAHM or a Working Mom?

I was a SAHM for the first 4 years after B was born. He was a very sick baby and needed special care 24/7 so we would never have made it without me staying at home with him. The biggest sacrifice those years were both economical and social, because in Sweden (where we lived at the time) SAHMs are frowned at. A woman who stays at home to take care of her child/children is lazy and a menace to society, because no income = no taxes and if all the moms would stay at home there wouldn't be enough children to fill the nurseries = unemployment. So SAHMs are a danger to society! *lol* I had to give up my job as a freelance interpreter and translator, so I didn't get any money from the social benefits, because I gave up my work voluntarily.

Then when B was 4 and G was 2 I studied for a year and had them in a nursery for a few hours a day. The following year I went back to my former job, working part time in different nurseries and schools in my area. B still could not manage to be among so many people for more than a few hours a day, so I never had a chance to go back to full time. Not that I ever wanted to, because I want to raise my kids.

And then we realized that we just could not handle the situation economically. We were spending too much money so I either had to get a full time job or the boys and I had to move to Morocco. And well, here we are today, living in Morocco while my husband is still living and working in Sweden. That is the hardest sacrifice I've ever had to do in my life, but I'd do it again if I had to, because my kids are EVERYTHING to me. Life is cheaper here so the money my husband makes is enough for the whole family. I know that in the end it will all have been worth it.