I understand what you're going thru. When my children were born I didn't have any choice but to go back to work. I guess we could have made it on one income, but I didn't want to have to go without the little extras. I have 3 sisters that all gave up their careers to be stay-at-home moms and they made me feel guilty for my decision and sometimes I felt guilty myself. As a result of my going back to work we were able to built our own home and put both of our children thru private school.
I guess it doesn't matter whether you are a stay-at-home mom or not but what does matter is the sense of "family" that you instill in your children. My daughter is 21 and my son is 17 and heading off to college in the fall. They are not only very close to their dad and I but extremely close to their grandparents, uncles, aunts & cousins and they see them all on a weekly basis. We didn't want them growing up and hardly knowing their cousins the way a lot of their friends did. They are all best of friends and I want it to stay that way. There is nothing more important than family and if you instill that in your children it really doesn't matter whether you work or not. I wish you luck in your decision-its not an easy one.
I guess it doesn't matter whether you are a stay-at-home mom or not but what does matter is the sense of "family" that you instill in your children. My daughter is 21 and my son is 17 and heading off to college in the fall. They are not only very close to their dad and I but extremely close to their grandparents, uncles, aunts & cousins and they see them all on a weekly basis. We didn't want them growing up and hardly knowing their cousins the way a lot of their friends did. They are all best of friends and I want it to stay that way. There is nothing more important than family and if you instill that in your children it really doesn't matter whether you work or not. I wish you luck in your decision-its not an easy one.