Relic
by Beth Hudson

A Relic.  A throwback.   A threat to feminism.  What am I?  A stay-at-home mom.

People ask me the strangest questions, "Why?" for instance. I can’t imagine not staying home with my kids. One of the reasons I had them was to be with them. I like them (most of the time). Sure it can be tough but all paths in life have tough moments, they help us to grow.

I am saddened by women who don’t know their children. I can honestly make that statement because I was once one of them. I went back to work when my son was eight weeks old, we took pictures of his first day of "school". In every shot I am crying. When he was almost two we started a business allowing me to work at home. The first couple of weeks were difficult. I was accustomed to being a weekend mom, I didn’t know how to handle the daily challenges. But, together we worked it out; a set time for lunch, a set time for nap (and if he didn’t nap he still stayed in his room for a quiet time). He learned that when the phone rang he wouldn’t interrupt. It worked out quite well. I missed him terribly when he started preschool twice a week at age 3 1/2.

Through the course of time we’ve had two more children and changed businesses several times but no matter how tight the checkbook would get, going back to work has not been an option. My children need me and I need them. We don’t need more things, we don’t need to eat out, and we don’t need to be a weekend family. Our children see that they are important enough, loved enough.

We cook together (every night, from scratch), we watch the garden grow, hang clothes out on a clothesline, and I’m there for them.  One day they will all be in school, the house will be quiet. And I’ll be alone. I will drink my coffee and read my paper without interruptions. I’ll still cook dinner every night, bake homemade cookies that will be hot and fresh when they arrive home, and I’ll still hang clothes out on the line - without being watched and questioned by little people.

I accept the title of relic, thank you.

Beth Hudson has been happily married for almost 14 years. She is thrilled to have Joshua 9 1/2, Jacob 4 1/2, and Rachel 2 1/2 - they are very insistent that she tell people about the "1/2"'s. She and her husband have a business that they operate from their home, and she teaches the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth in her spare time. Beth can be reached at jajorae@bellsouth.net .

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