I have something to tell you that you might not know. I hope I don’t get in trouble from all the other SAHMs and WAHMs that I socialize with for letting you in on this, but I’m going to tell you a secret:

Once in a while, we’re awfully jealous of you.

Okay, maybe I’m not speaking for everyone here, but I figured that you probably had enough of reading articles that talk about how great it is to stay at home with babies and watch them flourish and all that jazz. Yes, it’s great. On the other hand, I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t imagine how wonderful it must be to get an hour lunch break every day that you can do whatever you want, whether that’s grabbing a bite to eat with other adults, catch up on some work, or even take a nice stroll outside alone. Don’t even get me started about how great it must be to have a little bit of time alone in the car every day when you get to pick what you listen to and you don’t have to drive while wiping boogers off someone’s nose.

Don’t get me wrong…working from home is the best choice for me. Even though I would get a lot more work done every day if I was holed away in an office somewhere other than home, this is my choice and I’m happy to do it.

Having said that, I can still fantasize about speaking to other adults throughout the day and once in a while having a boss that says, “Good job!” instead of the usual, “This is so unfair!” that I get from my oldest child.

I know what you do is hard. I’m not glamorizing it. I just thought you should know that every so often, you’re the envy of many SAHMs and WAHMs.

I am in continual wonder of the subculture I entered when I decided to stay home with my babies instead of heading back to work. Stay at home moms are a hearty breed of women, but it can be an awfully lonely occupation. Sometimes there are days when I don’t get to talk to another adult until my husband walks in the door, and then I assault the poor man with conversation.

I was watching a dad at a play area with his kids and I started to wonder if it’s even lonelier being a stay at home dad. At least with stay at home moms we can spot each other by the dazed looks on our faces and the kids circling around us. We can always strike up conversations with other SAHMs because we know that there will always be some common denominator to discuss: kids.

With dads, though, I wonder how much the gender issue comes into play. Are SAHDs afraid to approach women to chat because they are afraid the women will think it’s an attempt at flirting? Obviously, a SAHD probably can’t suggest a playdate at his house like a SAHM can to another woman…at least not without raising a couple of eyebrows.

My days are always more fun when I can get together with other SAHMs and let out kids play themselves into exhaustion. I wonder if SAHDs have the same resources as we do? They are definitely the minority, so it’s probably harder to find other men to hang out with who are in the same position.

Stay at home dads, I applaud you. I think it’s awesome that your kids have the benefit of having a parent at home, and I think it’s great that you can tackle a role traditionally held by women.

Rock on, SAHDs.