crazy staying home

It’s Halloween. Happy Halloween! If SuperBoy could be something of my choosing for Halloween (you guessed it: he’s Babe Ruth dressed up as SuperMan), it would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That’s right. The Robert Louis Stevenson novel character wherein one person can is simultaneously wonderful and terrible. I know every little child is like this, and I’m not alone, but let me fill all of you in who have adorable babies (tormenters in the making) or no kids yet. Those of you who are childfree by choice probably know all this. You’ve heard it all before. From the dual working household it’s this: Mom or dad of child X says, “Oh, staying home would be so challenging. Sometimes I’m just relieved to go into the office on Monday.” Parent of child Y remarks at a party, “I love our childcare. They provide great structure and wonderful learning opportunities for our beloved little Y. Y loves to socialize with the other children. It’s a great fit.” From the stay at home household it’s this: Parent at home of child Z says, “This is the hardest job of my life. One of us is going to die, me, or the kid. I’m fantasy job hunting outside the home.” Parent also says, “I wouldn’t give this up for the world because I see my children all day long and I get to bond so closely with them.” Mommy wars ensure: which is harder? Newsflash: parenting is hard no matter what. Yeah,…