By kali.capps July 29, 2010 - 10:49pm

There are books and websites and television shows telling us all how wonderfully rewarding it is to be a stay at home mom. They gush about how lucky we are to be able to stay home with the kids all day. I am not here to argue either of those points, as they are both valid. I have never done anything more important or rewarding than raising my son. I miss him when I’m gone for the day and realize I am lucky to get to witness first hand all of his developments and achievements in these beginning years of his life. But guess what else I am …

EXHAUSTED

For a long time I thought I was the only woman who felt overwhelmed by this kid thing. I searched the internet and read all the books I could find in hopes to find other women like myself; women who were pretty much winging this whole parenting thing. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t a “Bad Mom” just because I sometimes joked about putting duct tape over the mouth of my screaming child (I wasn’t going to actually do it). I wanted to find another woman out there who, for the 1st couple of weeks after her child was born, wasn’t completely sure she had a stronger bond with the dog she’d had for the last 6 years (it doesn’t really seem fair to kick him out of the bed just because there’s a new guy in town, you know?). It’s moments like those – when we question our abilities – that make us human. If you can say, with a straight face, that you have never wondered about a debarking type procedure for your precious toddler, I’d say you are a damn good liar.