A good friend of my recently had her first baby, at which time she quit
her job and decided to stay home with him full time. It is no surprise, because I've mentioned it many times, I am not a SAHM
- I work a full time job and always have. I think it takes a special
person to be able to stay home everyday with their kids and although I
love my children I crave adult conversation and interaction. I do
however give props to those mommies who do it, because I think that

regardless of what miserable and/or crappy day I might have had at
work, I can leave it there and come home, they however do this job ALL
THE TIME!

Back to my point...

My friend quit her job and became a SAHM and it got me thinking, "Why go thru
the corporate rat race to just give it up in the end?" She graduated
from college, ventured off on her own to start a job at entry level and
over the course of 4 years she fought the daily grind of work, catty
co-workers, self-centered bosses and eventually climbed her way up the
food chain. She easily worked 60 hour weeks and made sacrifices on her
personal behalf because she didn't have a family waiting at home for
her. In this time I watched a person grow from enjoying what she did to
despising the work, feeling disenchanted and biding her time until she
could leave.

I am not saying that we all don't feel this way
sometimes, I know all too well how frustrating long work hours without
any break can do to the psyche,
however I've also never felt like I wanted to leave it all behind for
something different. A different job or work environment, perhaps, but
never just walk away. When my first daughter was born, I was a single
mother, not working was not an option. When my second daughter was
born, this was an option, but I chose to go back.

I've worked
for this life I lead, I've gained knowledge so I could advance, I've
worked long hours to show dedication in hopes of being considered for
the next promotion/raise and I've also juggled my schedule so that I
could be there when my family needed me most. I just can't imagine
going thru all of that just to walk away at the end - why? Why do it if it is not where you want to be headed? Why put yourself thru corporate misery if in the end you don't want to climb the ladder?

I
think both jobs are equally important, working mother and stay at home
mother. I think they are both demanding on your time and difficult as
well as rewarding. I understand doing one or the other out of necessity
but busting your butt to build that work portfolio seems like a lot of
work just to walk away in the end.

Do you think the corporate grind is worth it if in the end you decide to become a SAHM?