A Guilt Trip Away

As a stay-at-home mother, I feel a tremendous amount of guilt. Guilt because I spend money I didn't earn, guilt because I leave the kids with my husband after he worked hard all day, and guilt because when the bills come rolling in, I can do little more than say 'I'm sorry." Society has driven me to believe...on some semi-subconscious level... that even though I am a teacher (I homeschool), a housekeeper (albeit not a great one), a cook, a chauffeur, a personal assistant, an on call nurse, and a babysitter, What I do is not a "real" job. Because people cannot walk into my office and buy, sell, or trade, I am obviously sitting around having a Netflix marathon, with absolutely no demands on my time. See, I know that I work very hard. Therefore, my first inclination is to get upset by the reactions that people have when they learn that this is what I do for a living. Their response (no doubt) is increased by the fact that I am overweight, so I must be lazy.
When my first inclination of anger subsides, the strangest thing happens... guilt starts trickling in...

Guilt? Why? Then I realize that the same misinformation that poisoned those people runs through my veins, also. We have been programmed to value all the wrong things in this society.
 So, I put it to you. I challenge each and every one of you to take a vacation from your guilt. Here's how:

1. You are important to someone. Whether it is a spouse, a child, your parents, friends, or the guy at Dunkin' Donuts that you smile to every day, realize right now that you matter. You do. To someone, somewhere... you matter more than anything....even if you haven't met them yet.

2. The people we remember most from history, they didn't all have "normal" jobs. All the artists who died penniless knew that their work was valuable without any validation. Some jobs are long term payouts (like raising children). In this instant gratification society, these jobs are the hardest...but they are worth it.

3. Money doesn't make people happy. Did you know that the instance of suicide goes WAY up among lottery winners? Money brings with it its own set of problems. Sure...I'd love to have a bigger house, a nice car (with air!), and to not have to worry about rolling pennies to put fuel in my tank between paychecks...but people with money have "friends" who only like them for their money. They end up not being able to trust anyone, and that makes for a sad and lonely life.

I know, deep down, that I am offering my children a great service. From the beginning, I said, "I brought them into this crappy world; the least I can do is give them the best start possible." I help out where I can. I resell the kids clothes. I sell paintings occasionally. I hand make a lot of birthday gifts. I use my mad skills to run camera for concerts and things though the local convention center. I bargain shop. This IS doing my part. I am busier than anyone I know. Guilt is like a rocking chair. You can do it all you want, but it gets you nowhere. Let's all take an anti- guilt trip for a change... You bring your awesome sauce...I'll bring the Ben and Jerry's...