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.
There are also various moms groups online you can sign up for if you don't know any other stay at home moms in your area. Stay at home moms can be hard to spot, but you might be surprised at how many are in your area.
Going online really can help. Join a forum on a topic that interests you. Read blogs. Start one of your own. It's all a chance to express yourself and at least virtually interact with people who share your interests.
Some stay at home moms will insist to you that they never feel isolated, as though you shouldn't either. But if you ask them about it, you will find out that these are the moms who already have a good network of friends and family they can talk to and do things with regularly. They aren't lonely because they don't allow it to happen.
As you get used to being a stay at home mom and develop friendships with people who can be there when you need someone other than a child to talk to, you can get control over the isolation. It doesn't have to be a problem forever.
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