Just a Mum??

I was at Virgin Mobile with my children a little while ago, signing up for a new mobile account. The guy behind the counter was asking me all the necessary questions, name, date of birth etc, and when we got to the question about employment he asked me what my job was and I told him that I am a Mum. He looked at my son who was dozing in my arms and said "I can see that, but do you have a job, or are you just a Mum?" I very politely informed him that being a Mum is my job, and no I don't have a job that pays money.

It got me thinking about how the world at large sees stay at home parents. How is not having an income make you "Just a Mum"? Sometimes, I wonder if I am being a little defensive regarding the way Soldier and I have decided to raise our children and live our lives. I worked before I had children and I will work school hours when my last child is at school. Does that mean that I was/will be more productive and contribute more to society whilst I am working.

The first thing that comes up when you meet someone new is what you do for a living. More often than not I am greated with silence when I say I am a wife and mother. People just do not know what to say next.

I find myself wishing that I was born fifty years earlier, when what I "do" with myself was more mainstream, and then I remember that there was no internet in the 50s and I very quickly change my mind.