Can you really say that being a stay home Mother is a career?

[Butterbean]

105. Taking care of my autistic child and my toddler is indeed work.

Running to therapies, coordinating with doctors, managing medications and meltdowns and coordinating playdates and playgroups (all autism playdates and playgroups, meant to teach social skills), constantly having to stay on top of your kid so that he doesn't harm your other kid or the cat or the dog or YOU....yeah, I definitely consider this gig a full time job.

I work as a nurse on the weekends. Even my busiest days at work are easier in a lot of respects than my regular days at home. I chose to stay home with my children after my first child was born and it was obvious that he wouldn't do well in daycare. That turned out to be a wise decision, as his first diagnosis came at 13 months of age. Our income took a hit, but we got no subsidies or SSI or medicaid or any of that stuff, because the hit wasn't big enough. We still spent 11k out of pocket the first year of his diagnosis. 6k of that happened in one day.

Raising a special needs child is a full time job and then some, and it is 'round the clock, 24/7 (especially when your child doesn't sleep, something that happens frequently with autism). Being a nurse at least can have some down time when census is low, and has a definite start/finish time. I clock in, I clock out, and someone steps in to take my place. I am officially off the hook. With my kids, it's not like that. I'm always 'on the clock,' even after they're asleep, because one of them wakes up in the middle of the night, every night. I haven't slept through the night in 8 years.

So yeah, I consider it a career, and double dog dare anyone who thinks all I do is sit around and nap and eat bon bons all day to come do my "easy job" for a week. Just my $0.02.