I think with this as many other touch subjects it is best just to smile and say, "Oh, I have plenty to keep me busy!" A couple of answers like that should get polite people to drop it.

Impolite people -- who cares? (Well, of course, we all do, since it's usually friends and family being impolite!!) Then you have something like, "Oh we can get into that some other time" ready to say, and some other time will never come, unless you really want it too.

My mom came home to be an at-home mom when I was 12 (only child, mom had been a single parent for many years). I don't think she had a clear idea of what she wanted to come home for, and she eventually went back to work, first part time, then full time. (She did work in my school for some of that time, though! I'll never forget being sent to sit in the hall during science, only to have my mom come around the corner and find me there!)

I think anyone who has been at home knows that there is plenty to do without kids underfoot just to keep the home clean, peaceful, and running smoothly. You just can't say that to someone who works full time, b/c the implication to them might be, "Oh, so I am not keeping my home clean enough, peaceful enough, or smooth enough?!"

Anyway, I think those middle teen years are a great time to be at home! Kids get very busy, but aren't old enough to drive themselves, and aren't *really* trustworthy enough to have most of the afternoon to themselves either. Kids need a strong home base to grow away from as they get ready to leave, or at least I think so.

If home is where you feel you need to be, then go for it!

Shaun
www.homeschoolblogger.com/shaunms