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So I have been retired over a month now and I still love it. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have its issues. Let’s do some pros and cons:
- Pros:
- Spending more time with your kids (some may see this as a con I imagine??). Since this is clearly the #1 pro, I am not going to put 20 pros about how I think my kids are benefiting from my being home (are they?), etc.
- No more damn commute.
- Less hectic. It’s so much calmer in the morning now. We don’t have to rush around and get ready and eat and all that in a certain amount of time.
- No more alarm clock. Not that a screaming baby isn’t an alarm clock, but sometimes it lets me sleep later (after getting up 2x) than my alarm clock did.
- Being outside. We spend so much time outside and I love it. I imagine my Vitamin D levels are not those of a vampire anymore. So staying homes does have some health benefits too!
- Saving money (on certain things). We eat out a TON less now. And I save a boatload on gas.
- Less stress. Some people think it’s more stressful to be a SAHM though. I suppose that depends on what your job was?
- More family time. I’m not just talking about me and the kids spending more time together. I mean, B too. When he gets home from work, I have dinner at least started and all the chores (laundry, dishes, etc.) done. So instead of spending time doing not fun stuff, we can have water balloon fights in the backyard.
Cons: - No more alone time. Yeah, I used to be able to run to Target at lunch all alone and roam around. Now, not so much. Which might be good.
- Less money. Umm, clearly aren’t saving more money on eating out and gas than I made in a month ;).
- Less “friend time” for L. For someone who was an only child for 4 years, he sure does have a hard time playing alone. This is the result of years of spending his days with other kids. He’s used to being around his friends all day and always having someone to play with. Yeah, he’s still got friends and has playdates, etc., but its not like it used to be.
I have some other cons like not getting any sleep, no “free” time during the day (L doesn’t nap and I spend his “down” time feeding W), but I think alot of that comes with having a newborn so I am not counting it.
Are you retired?? What do you think the pros and cons are??
