I Lied to My Husband So I Could Be a Stay-at-Home Mom
Submitted by
Vanessa Antoine
Just before our daughter was born, my husband and I decided to take the plunge into homeownership under the condition that I would continue to work. No problem! I was a career gal and had no qualms about placing my kiddo in day care while I battled in the world of finance. But then I met my little angel and she turned me into a liar.
While on maternity leave, I really bonded with my baby, and when my time off was up, I told my husband that I had reservations about leaving her with people she didn't know. That bought me a few months—three to be exact. As we settled into our new home, my husband began asking me if I had started looking for a job. "Sure, but no one is hiring," I told him, hoping that he wouldn't ask for details.
When my daughter turned 5 months old, my husband bugged me about checking out a day-care center so that I could go back to work. I did and, thank goodness, the waiting list was 12 months long. I got us on the list and hoped that by the time we got the call for enrollment, I would be able to leave my daughter behind while I brought in some extra money. Boy was I wrong!
When my daughter turned 17 months, our phone rang. The day care was calling to say my time was up. What was I going to do?! I decided that a lie was the only thing that would save my job as a stay-at-home mom. I looked at our budget, figured out what we couldn't afford for day care, swallowed hard and created a fake fee schedule for the day care on my laptop. I put together a "packet" of documents (to make it look official) and crossed my fingers.
I presented it to my husband, telling him that during the waiting period, the day-care center had increased its prices. I explained that if I did get a job, I would simply be working to pay day-care expenses. The lie worked! I mean, we had to make a few changes, like going from two cars to one. We also can't do things like buy a big-screen TV, join a gym or add a new room to our house. We live well, but if I worked, we would live better.
My husband praises the job I do with our daughter, loves that supper is ready when he gets home and always lets me know that he trusts me and the decisions I make for us. Sure I lied to him ... but in the end I think it was in our family's best interest.
Submit!
