Beating Stay at Home Isolation
There's a price to be paid for the privilege of being a stay at home
mom. I don't just mean the loss of income either. Many a stay at home
mom quickly notices a feeling of isolation, not only when she first
starts out at home, but periodically when circumstances cause her to
lose touch with the outside world.
Isolation is painful. It doesn't matter that you adore your children or
that all the other stay at home moms you know are counting their
blessings and seem to be having a blast. Sometimes the personal
sacrifice of less time with other adults really stings.
This gets even harder when you run into people who tell you that you
should just be grateful for the time you have with your children. You
can be grateful for that yet still feel isolated. There is nothing that
says those two things can only be felt separately.
You don't have to feel completely alone. No matter how young your
children are there are things you can do to get some time with other
adults and beat those lonely feelings.
Something as simple as running errands can help. It's not much time with
other people, and you probably won't have a real conversation with
anyone other than the cashier as you check out, but it can relieve some
of that isolated feeling.
If the children are old enough, heading to the park or to a museum can
help too. The park is particularly enjoyable if you can arrange for
another mom to be there, ideally with kids for yours to play with. The
children get exercise; you get time to talk with another grownup who
knows what you're dealing with.