I always wanted to be a stay at home mom. I never had lofty career goals or plans. I still don't. Staying home looks different than it used to, now that my kids are getting older, but this quote from Linda K. Burton still rings true:
"Mothers decide to stay home not just because they are tired of juggling family and career; not just because they want to 'be there' for the first word and the first step; not just because they have found that a rich home life requires persistent personal investment.
"They want to be home because in some quiet moment caring for their children, they have suddenly experienced the vastness, the intricacies, the delicate nature of this work. While performing some entirely routine act of nurturing, they have unexpectedly stumbled on a moment of insight so luminous as to reveal with imposing clarity that the greatest opportunity for success they might ever have is nestled right there in their arms.
"And in the midst of a thousand previous assumptions about life and love, in an instant that no one else can measure or see, they decided that this uncertain business of trying to guide childish innocent into adult wisdom is an art worth of extraordinary exertion and time."
I am thankful that I am able to be home for my family. It is what suits us best, and I am grateful that we have the means and resources to make it possible.
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Beautiful; so lacking in today's culture.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this quote too! I thought maybe it was by Linda Burton of the Relief Society Presidency, but I think it's a different Linda Burton, I did some googling and its from an out-of-print book about smart women who choose to stay home to mother instead of an outside career. Nonetheless, such a beautiful, inspiring quote. Love it so much!
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