The Time Has Come

   Well my time has finally come. My run as a Stay at Home Mom is over. I remember so clearly the day I decided to take this on. I had been working at a private school for almost 6 years, and I had always loved it. However, after the twins were born my feelings about it changed almost over night. There I was, raising other people's kids all day from 7:30 to 5:30 while my own two were being raised by my mom. I was missing everything. I only got to spend a couple of hours with them at night and on weekends. It wasn't enough. Then one day I just couldn't stand the thought of it anymore. I went home that night and it was all I could think about. The next day I went in to work and wrote out my two weeks notice not even discussing it with my husband. Sometimes you just have to jump in the deep end and learn to swim. Luckily, Zach agreed with me that it would be best for me to stay at home and almost exactly 9 years ago on February 11th I spent my last day being a working mom.

   

   At first, I treated being home like a job. I HAD to mop the floors, vacuum, and have a three coarse meal for dinner every night. It was exhausting. I had stayed home to spend time with my kids, not to be a maid! Oh how I quickly learned that I would never be Supermom like I had envisioned. I developed a motto that I still preach today, "There's always tomorrow!" I started to see that even if the ONLY thing I got done in a day was console a baby after she took a tumble outside, it was enough. I got to BE there. I got to witness them falling and getting back up, learning new things, and bonding with each other. The fact that there was laundry to do and floors to sweep was important too and it always got done (eventually) but for the first time I was feeling like a real mom.   

   Not long after I began my job as a stay at home mom, I got a call from a friend who was curious to know if I would be interested in watching her son during the day while she was at work. He was about the same age as the girls and we REALLY needed the income so I agreed. Little did I know, this would be the beginning of an 8 year job. I kept four kids from my house five days a week from 8-6 for four years. They were all the same age so I created a "preschool" for them in my kitchen. We had a strict schedule that included nap time, school time, lunch time, play time, etc. By the time they were four, they could say the Pledge of Allegiance, count in Spanish and English, write their names, they knew the days of the week, the months of the year, they knew their colors, shapes, letters, and SO much more! When this run was over, I got different kids. I never had a time when I was without other kids during the day. I worked off and on part time jobs at night to make ends meet but I always had my days with my girls. Even after they started Kindergarten and it was just me and Maizy during the day, I still had other kids. Every single kid that came through my house was loved and treated like my own kids. I felt like the little old lady who lived in a shoe sometimes between wiping noses, changing diapers, and making lunches but everyone grew up happy and loved. 

   Now Maizy is in pre-k five days a week and she will start full time Kindergarten next year. I knew this day would come but it is truly bittersweet. I will be starting my new full time job with the school district on Monday, February 10th, one day shy of exactly 9 years at my current job (stay at home motherhood). I'm so excited. I will be working with little ones and I get to hang out with kids all day! It's what I love to do and it's kind of all I know HOW to do! I had never planned on doing this forever and it hasn't been easy. We have struggled through it in so many ways! That being said, I don't regret it one bit. So, Monday morning when my alarm goes off at 5:45 and I must get up and shower and make complete sure everyone has their lunches and folders because I cannot bring it back up to them later, I might cry a little. Not because I'm sad about going to work, but because I have REALLY loved this job!