Sunday School Day 4: Why I think being a mother is a full-time job

I recall a conversation I had with a friend over the summer. At the lab there is a technician who repeats the same experiments over and over again, every single day of her life - well, every single day she works. My friend and I were convinced that her job was a career which was not meant for us because we would literally kill ourselves due to the same repetitive nature of the work and its associated monotony. When he joked that if I fail at my career I could be that future technician, I told him that "I'd rather be a housewife than her."

Like other Western men, he believes that women who are stay-at-home moms make a waste of their lives. I chose to disagree with him because I personally feel that it's a huge responsibility to raise kids who are not only intellectually stimulated but are also socially responsible. What I chose to not explain to him was that how for us Muslims we also have the responsibility of raising our kids to be good Muslims and to be successful in the hereafter in addition to being successful in this world. But to speak the truth, I can't even think on those lines right now because I personally feel that being a mother is so taxing. I literally salute all our moms after coming back from Sunday school today.

It was the same regular draining day with a little tweak: lunch did not arrive on time. All the kids started shouting and being uneasy because they wanted food. It was so hard to control them. Not to mention my previous efforts of trying to make my little kids memorize Surah Fatiha. While they waited for food, I lost control of myself during a couple of moments especially when I had to shout at John when he threw an empty juice box across the circle of kids. I regret that because this is the type of attention kids seek, and I sort of gave in. I now realize why my mom shouts at my youngest siblings. Parenting is such a tough job. I wonder if I could be a working mother or not? Or maybe I would need to get out in order to get a dose of sanity. But I lean on the opinion that being a mother is indeed a full-time job. I guess time shall tell me insha'Allah.

I need to study for my psychology exam . Now.