As we approach the end of week 2 during the covid-19 quarantine it is time to thank all the selfless moms (and those few dads as well) who choose to stay home with their children. The unintended chance afforded to me these past few weeks of being something like a “stay at home mom” awards such a new appreciation for these hard-working individuals. I can honestly say there was never any judgement, however, they do deserve a new working title. How about Grandmasters, Wizards, or to be exact “Bad-@$$ Mother%^&*.” Yes, these people are heroes and have my respect. The household heroes many often overlook are the ones who may realistically do the most (my kids pooped 4 times each yesterday, I am tired of smelling poop.)
These past few weeks have been absolutely amazing times with my twin sons. (Some of the best advice I can give to them right now in is pick a profession that you love and permits occasions to take care of your family in circumstances like these. How hard is it to teach and coach online? Not too hard!) With that being said the truth is a stay at home mom can be tough. The days seem to go by at a snail’s pace, no contact with adults and repetitive tasks, commands, and songs that feel like a game of 52 card pick up. Yet all the while, it is incredibly rewarding developing an unbreakable bond with my boys. Still at the end of each day I am physically, mentally and emotionally drained in many different ways compared to when leaving the house.
Everyday I have made it a point to get up in the mornings and continue my daily routine. Walk the dogs with my wife, workout, get my small people looking presentable, as well as myself. Essentially keeping a routine has helped during such unforeseen times. The routine has offered me sanity through creative ideas I have had to engineer for short attention spans whether that be for the allotted times of toddler learning time, outside play time, my own work time, and even when it is time to eat. In just a few short weeks we have learned to share, (through only having 1 toy at a time or taking out one of their chairs and sharing time each one has in it) basic colors, shapes, counting to 5, praying, and even healthy eating. Being a high school coach might have forged a great foundation as many teenagers barely posses longer attention spans.
Before facing the fact that I would have the means to stay at home over the lockdowns caused by the pandemic I would light-heartedly tease my wife about getting to baby-sit the twins for an extended period of time. Truth be told that is not the case. You learn to be a world builder and, in my instance, dressed in a cape! The work that must be done for not just 1 but 2 toddlers day-in and day-out forms and builds the world my little men. Their reality is the one we as a community create for them every day. And that’s hard, serious, meaningful work. For that a special THANK YOU goes out to our incredible nannies who deserve a much-needed break. My twin sons move at a rapid pace, challenge heights as if they are Evil Knievel, eat like Joey Chestnut, love Music as much as Justin Timberlake, and throw balls as if Mike Trout is waiting to catch them.
In addition, I applaud you:
The stay at home mom. I can’t speak for the entire world, but from my little corner of reality the last few weeks I just want to say this: Thank you, Stay at Home Mom. Thank you for doing the hardest job in the world and making it look easy. Thank you for taking judgment from those who don’t know better and brushing it off because, really, you’re far too busy for all that. Thank you for waking up and ignoring whispers of those who choose to believe you really don’t have a job. Every day you are making strides towards normalizing what we call life-for the entire family- even if it is sometimes at the cost of your own career. Thank you for showing us what strong really is in motion. Leaving every day for work can be hard, but while it affords us all a purpose. A motivation to provide for those left at the house culminated with chances to move up the ladder, garner rewards, and even display our families in some fancy offices. Stay at home moms don’t reap such accolades. Not every human is built for this job either. To say the least I am chopping at the bit to get back into a competitive environment: A high stakes drill during practice? Screaming opposing fans as you enter an arena? Adrenaline rush from calling the correct play in a close game? In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the purposeful time with my little men. Remember to do the same with your loved ones while extending love and gratitude to fellow Americans in your community.
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