Here you'll find current musings, as well as the archives from two blogs of yesteryear: YoungMarriedMom and What I Learned While Writing a Novel. Please comment and share. We love well when we are in conversation with one another. 

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Young married mom

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motherhood

ethan

For the record, I think the acronym “SAHM” is silly.  It’s not easy to pronounce, as an acronym should be, and the “A” for “at” seems grammatically incorrect to me.  But this is a blog on the internet, where this kind of speech reigns.  When in Rome, right?

When I finally made the decision to stay at home with Jacob, I was not entirely at peace with the choice.  I knew it was the plan John and I had agreed upon when we got married, and I knew that it was the right thing for our family.  Still, I loved my job very much, and the sea of unknowns that come with being home with a newborn threatened to overwhelm me.  I was bummed that John got to work and have those interactions with adults, be intellectually stimulated, build a career, etc. and also had a baby and a home to come back to at the end of the day.  I felt like he had the best of both worlds and the better end of the deal.

Eight months later, the tables have turned in my mind.  Now I wonder how in the world he gets up every day and leaves us to go into—dun, dun, dun—Manhattan!  I can’t imagine not being here for so many special moments in Jacob’s life (even if a good number of his “firsts” come in the middle of the night).  And by God’s grace, my freelance business is steadily growing, so I continue to have interaction with adults, intellectual stimulation, a growing career, etc.  And there’s so much more!

I am reading like crazy—almost a book a week.

I am writing every day—here and otherwise.

I am eating healthier foods—having a full kitchen at my disposal at mealtime, rather than stuffing lunch in a bag is a great blessing.

I am in better shape—scooping up a nearly twenty-pound baby who knows how many times a day and walking everywhere I need to go beats sitting in a cubicle any day!

Basically, I am doing all the things I love every day—being with my baby, praying, reading, writing, editing, eating well, and exercising (even if it is disguised as a trip to Target).  Oh, how mysteriously God works in our lives!

I often get the impression that some folks wait to have their lives in order before they have babies.  In my experience, life got started once I had a baby, not the other way around.

It’s just another example of the tremendous fruits of trusting in God.  His grace is abundant, and despite the new daily stresses my life has taken on, I feel His mercy raining down on me all the time.

I know every mom makes the decision that is right for her and her family.  I only mean to make the point that I am better, I am more complete because I am a mom.  And I am so very grateful for this gift.

  1. Juliana says:

    I love your post! I am a young SAHM as well, and to be honest having a baby has opened my mind in some many different ways. I think I am enjoying everything more now than before. Even when grandma takes the baby during the weekend and my husband and I have child-free dates. I am enjoying and appreciating them more. I feel like I am growing up with my baby. I am thankful to God that I am blessed with some much knowledge and love. Children are really a blessing.

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