Mothers at Home

During one of our classes, we were blessed to be able to learn a lot about parental differences and the role of each within the home in regards to family.  Typically within our Church, we feel that the primary role of a mother is to stay home and raise her children, if possible.  Often times however, we lose sight of what is truly important and tend to focus on that which is not, even if our intentions are good.  I'm not saying that a mother who works outside of the home is bad, but rather posing the question, "what is more important?"  For the past few years, my college career has been in preparation for medical school, and the late nights and long hours that were to follow once medical school was done.  However, the older I have gotten, and the more open I have become to change, the more I have realized that, although I thought I could successfully be a mother and a doctor at the same time, I can't.  Realistically, either my job or my children would end up suffering.  Thankfully I was able to come to this realization and change my major to a healthcare profession that is more ideal for a mother who wants to preferably go back to work AFTER her children have grown up before I invested too much, but I’m still glad that in this class we were able to look deeper into the idea of mothers working outside the home and to see what minimal perks it actually has.  Even financially, after paying for childcare and the other costs of keeping kids entertained while they are alone, there really are no benefits, but rather just a long list of significant expenditures.  In my opinion, there is nothing more valuable than the time spent raising your children (if possible), and I believe that any sacrifice should be made in order to make it a possibility.