I love staying home with my kids—is there something wrong with me? —
, like all my friends. I came to motherhood relatively late. I’d completed a PhD and then worked and qualified for a year of EI. I would go back when it ran out of course! A year seemed a long time to be away from work.
In fact, I’ve had exposure to many industries. I’ve worked as a bookstore clerk, foot messenger, lemon inspector, barista, elderly support worker, sustainability/diversity analyst, advertising semiotician, university instructor, film consultant, account manager and even, video game avatar. I’ve enjoyed many aspects of these roles. But I’ve finally found a job I really love:I admire the women who are honest about their boredom with motherhood.
In my experience, childcare isn’t simple, boring or low-skilled. It requires every ounce of knowledge, good judgment, patience, compassion, imagination and physical strength I have. I recently took on some work as an academic researcher to pad my resume and make money as I look for work again. My husband and a few others asked me “whether it felt good to use another part of my brain again.
People often say to me, “I don’t know how you do it!” People also acknowledge the value of caring for children; I hear them say it’s “the most important work.” But this can feel like lip service when these kudos are undercut by its common description as “boring” – the implication being that childcare is beneath someone who’s an educated professional, and better contracted out.