re: thoughts on stay at home spouse?

Here's some perspective from a woman:

I teach, so I have experience both at home and at work. It is infinitely easier to handle everything (parenting, housework, cooking, etc) during the summer. Plus, we have time to hang out at the pool. Life is great in the summer, and my husband loves it too. I am less stressed, and he has commented several times that he wishes I could be home all the time. I cherish my summers spending time with our daughter. I am basically a SAHM during the summer.

However, I also love my job. I am fortunate enough to be off work at 3:30 (unless there's something going on after school), and I teach at my daughter's school (private), which is a pretty nice set-up.

The only time I truly wanted to quit my job was when my daughter was very sick last year. She got an infection after ACL surgery, and it was awful trying to work and care for a sick child. She missed a month of school after her surgery. Fortunately, my mother (who is retired), was able to stay with us and help out during that time. I would have had to take unpaid leave if my mom hadn't been able to help out.

That said, having your wife be a SAHM is a good thing as long as you can afford it. It also depends on what sort of wife you have. If she is lazy, forget it. It is not unreasonable to expect a clean house and dinner on the table if your wife stays home, in my opinion. Granted, I am a person of simple tastes with a good work ethic, so "keeping house" is easy to me. My weekends are free for fun things--not just errands and cleaning house.