Zenith, As a matter of fact, I have much respect and admiration for them. (I might say that I don't consider either option a "higher calling" though. Just different roads to walk!)
I have a very dear friend who decided to stay home and raise her family after college, rather than work. It was a conscious choice to make her family life better and to raise her children in a way she felt was best. She and I are very close and I support the idea of a parent (either one!) staying home with the children when it is financially possible, as was her situation.
Things worked out differently for me, but had I the choice- I'd have taken both.
CB
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Storm-Queen
Purple Rose of the Black Knight