Under One Roof
By Jill Osborn
Living at home with my parents to save some money for a house, wasn’t exactly how my husband and I pictured our lives when we got married, it does have it’s perks… especially since we have a toddler and I’m pregnant again. I thought I might share the top five reasons why sometimes as a mother, it can be ok to live at home with your mom and dad… for a while.
1. In Your Business Isn’t Always Bad.
“Are you ok?” Mom asked. As soon as she said this, I realized that when you live at home with your parents, you can’t always hide the turmoil of what’s going on inside your head or your life.
“I’m so tired,” I said as I began to word vomit. “Jaxson isn’t sleeping which makes him more irritable and more susceptible to tantrums. No surprise there since he’s two. But we also need to go to the grocery store and I am nervous he will pitch a fit in one of the aisles and people will stare at me like I’m contagious with a major virus. The ‘You Can’t Control Your Kid’ virus.”
“Let’s go to the store together. You shop. I’ll watch Jax,” Mom said as she swooped Jaxson up in her arms. And just like that, Mom took care of the both of us– she took care of Jaxson by entertaining him and helped me remain at least semi-sane. So while it may be a pain sometimes having your family in your business while living at home, on certain days, it is a blessing.
2. Endless Energy
When it is two o’clock in the afternoon and my two-year old toddler has decided to skip his nap, I will come downstairs to find at least one of my family members saying, “Jaxy is awake!” I’m tired and wish both my son and I were sleeping, but they are excited to see us up. Whether it’s mom playing peek-a-boo with him behind the couch pillows, my dad letting Jax ride on his back as if he is a horse, or my brother whirling him around the house like an airplane – they seem to lend the endless energy that my son needs. The effort that I can’t always give. And when they do – I plop myself down on the couch and watch from the sidelines as I enjoy that much needed five minute water break from the game of motherhood.
3. In the Know.
An advantage to living at home is the instant ability to tap into the experience of your parents, who are now grandparents. They often know what toys are needed for the next stage of a child’s life. Since my parents raised three kids, they are pros at coming up with fun ideas. For instance, my dad just got Jaxson a T-ball set.
“I thought we could start teaching him how to hit the ball,” Dad said proudly as if reminiscing about how he had taught us.
Mom got Jaxson the CD “Just For You,” a read-along CD for the Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer. “You all used to love listening to this tape when you were little,” Mom told me. Needless to say, Jax loved them both.
4. Date Night.
By living at home, I don’t have to worry about finding babysitters who love Jax just as much as we do – because I see how much my parents love him everyday. Thus, when Justin and I asked to go a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game for a date night recently, my parents eagerly agreed. It’s probably nice for them to be able to be grandparents without us hovering over them, too.
“Go on and enjoy yourselves. Don’t worry about a thing because the three of us are going to have a blast,” Mom tells me as Dad steals Jaxson from her arms. How nice for us to be able to go out on a date without having to pay a babysitter. But even better, we know our son is getting great love and care.
5. In Good Company.
Being an extroverted person, I love having people around. But as a mother at home, life can get a little lonely with just me and my little one. Not that I don’t enjoy saying “train goes fast” over and over again with my two-year old son. However, it is nice to carry on actual adult conversations from time to time. That’s where living at home with your parents comes in handy. There is always someone around to talk to. Even if it’s small talk, it can make a big difference in my day.
But on the days that others are busy and Jaxson actually does go down for a nap (praise the Lord), I do like to blog about the ups and downs of living at home, motherhood, and all that comes with it. If you would like to read more, visit my blog at www.MuchAdoAboutMothering.com. At the very least, I hope you can get a good chuckle at the everyday chaos that seems to swarm around us like bees on honey.
24
0
20
20
