24 Stay-At-Home Moms Shared What Their Lives Are Like

12.

“I was a stay-at-home mom for 20 years. I loved every moment of raising my four oldest (living) children, who are 18 months apart. We homeschooled and spent hours around the table engrossed in learning. I taught them how to clean, cook, etc. We did service projects, played sports, and explored woods, museums, galleries, and historic places. I worked nights and weekends to make ends meet. Eventually we had a surprise baby. Then my husband got a better job making almost three times the income. So he traded me and the kids in for a younger woman and a new baby.”

“We got left behind to make ends meet on a single-mom budget cobbled together out of three jobs. We lived really small, but we love each other. The big kids are now grown and have life skills, jobs, and enormous compassion and respect. The little is now a teenager, and she’s a fierce force of nature. I qualify for food stamps and can’t afford healthcare. He travels the world with his new wife. Advice to other future SAHMs: Be careful who you trust to take care of you. It might just end up being yourself. Be prepared.”

—49, Southeast, USA