Tell Me How You Really Feel
There are those times when people slip up and say something and in that one sentence they tell you exactly how they feel, what they think or where you stand…I had one of these moments yesterday. Unfortunately, I was on the business end of that slip and it came from a place I never expected…
Mr. M2C (Remember, I’m annoyingly calling him that now) was telling me about a friend of his who was complaining about the high rent at his new place. Mr. M2C response to that was “So? You are making more money now and you have a partner that contributes income.” Did you catch that last part? I did because it felt like a line drive speeding 110mph towards my heart.
Is that what he thinks? That I don’t contribute? Is what I’m doing not weighed as much as if I brought in a paycheck? These are the questions swirling around in my head. Did I make a mistake? I never felt as if I had until that very moment. I was under the impression that staying home and raising our children would increase my stock not devalue it completely. It left me sort of speechless. I tried to make a joke, I think I said “ouch!” but the sting was real.
I thought OUR decision and how flawlessly we executed it would be something he could talk about with pride not resentment. I think of how many families are out there wishing they were in the position for one parent to stay at home with their children.
I set aside my goals to make our family what it is today and now I’m not sure I have the respect I thought I was going to get. Let’s face it, as stay at home parents, we get paid in respect not in dollars. If you take that away…we are flat broke.
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