I think I have been met by every single different response possible, when I tell people that I am a SAHM. My favourite would have to be when they start justifying to 'me' about how being a SAHM is the hardest job in the world and how dedicated and fabulous I am for being a SAHM!! Like I somehow need their validation?

Or the other response I get when they find out later on that although I title myself a SAHM, I also do work for Weight Watchers and study, and then I am greeted with shock and disbelief and told "so you do work!" or some other equally baffling/disturbing/judgemental response.

Mind you having 3 young kids at home, I have found the responses to be more geared towards how busy I must be running after them all (disbelief I could have so many so close in age), which is a pleasant change to when I just had one or two kids.

I have found that most people seem to 'expect' that once your kids are around 1yr or older, that you will look at 'returning' to the workplace. It can be a very interesting conversation sometimes, when I then have to explain that I cann't 'return' to the workplace, because I have never truely been in it (from studying to mothering). And that furthermore, this was a 'choice' deliberately made by DH and myself. Everyone is shocked. Some people are logical and can understand this after they think about it. Others....well lets just just you can see their eyes glaze over and you can see the judgements forming.

I think it is human nature to want to categorise everyone. People want everyone else to fit in there little boxes that make up how they veiw the world. I (and I am sure many other SAHM's) baffle people because as soon they think they have me pegged and can safely religate me to an assigned category, they I go again messing up their percieved notion of how things actually work.