I'm quitting my job today

Published on May 3 2006

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge, according to a study released Wednesday.

I like the idea of a pay raise to not make paper! And then i read this paragraph:

A mother who works outside the home would earn an extra $85,876 annually on top of her actual wages for the work she does at home, according to the study by Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts Salary.com.

Even better! Doubling my earnings for what I do anyway? Where do I sign up? How goofy can these studies get? Although everyone knows what value a stay-at-home parent would be, is there seriously anyone who thinks it's possible to put a dollar value on it?

"Every husband I've ever spoken to said, 'I'm keeping my job. You keep yours.' It's a tough one," said Gillian Forrest, 39, a stay-at-home mother of 22-month-old Alex in New York. "I don't know if you could put a dollar amount on it but it would be nice to get something."

I would have given anything to have been able to do it. Pay or no pay. I consider anyone who was able to stay home, raise their kids, and center their family incredibly lucky. Incredibly lucky. You had the best damn job of all.