Working Mom
I'm sure most of you moms out there that work will agree with me saying this: Working sucks! I would love to be an at home mom that didn't have to worry about working. I do work from home, which is a major plus, but it still sucks. I am not a fan of having someone else come and take care of my kids. Now, let me back up a bit and say that I am completely bless to A. be working from home and B. having our sitter come to the house to watch the girls. This allows us to be a bit more flexible than most jobs and daycares would allow. I am not going to lie, I totally loved being off for 16 weeks with the babies. I didn't even think about work or how many days I had left or anything. It was so nice. I went back to work about 2 and half weeks ago now, and it just rips my heart out knowing that I can't spend every minute with them anymore. However, it is nice to be able to still see them and hear them. That makes this mommy's heart feel better.
After Anna came in to our family, I made the decision to stay home and not work. At the time I was a teacher. After a couple of months, we realized that ideally this wasn't going to work for our family. We really needed that extra income to help keep our family afloat. On top of things, we had decided to move to Utah.
Within a week or 2 of moving to Utah I started working for a company that is an online realtor. I had no idea that working from home with them was even an option until during training. I worked towards being able to be deployed and was told that I would in January. Then I got a nice Christmas present from them...I was able to go home sooner. I started working from home the week before Christmas, just 3 months after being there. I was excited especially since Steve and I decided to move to the Salt Lake area as that's where Steve's job is and the commute for him was horrible. We thought I could commute for about a month knowing that I'd be working from home and wouldn't need to after that. Then I got the good news to start sooner rather than later. That was a nice surprise indeed.
I have been able to keep Anna home with me while working from home. This has been nice, but slightly frustrating as I can't keep my full attention on her as I would like. She is very smart and loves to learn, but sitting down with her to really do any kind of schooling is hard to do. I do teachable moments when I can, but I know she'd love to have a bit of schooling in there as well. This girl can sing her ABC's (she gets tripped up around L, M, N, O, P, but who doesn't right? haha), knows how to count to 10 and almost to 20 (she misses just a few numbers), and she knows a lot of her colors. I know she's ready, but I just can't do it during the week when I work. When I was off of on leave after having Olivia, it was so nice. We worked on school type things while Olivia slept. She loved it! So basically, if I had my way, I wouldn't work. If only being a homemaker was an actual job that would actually pay - that would be amazing!
I have a friend who comes to my house to watch the girls. If I am able to, I will nurse Olivia, but if I can't, I do have enough milk in my freezer for her. She's not a fan of a bottle but oh well. My friend has a 2 and half year old son that she bring with her. Listening to him and Anna play is priceless. I know that my girls are being greatly cared for, but it still hurts my heart that it can't be me fully. Being a working mom is tough! I can't imagine if I had to actually go somewhere and drop the girls off at some form of daycare. It pulls on my heart strings just being home with them and having someone care for them in my own home. I try to take in the little moments the best I can though. Anna loves to come over and give me hugs, give me pretend soup or coffee, give me a "phone" to talk on, or just to hang out with me while I work. She longs for attention from me, more than I can fully give, but I try my best to soak up those moments. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have that. I'm very blessed to work for a company that does allow me to work at home. They do have a policy that childcare must be in place - so being able to find someone willing to care for them in my home has been amazing. Most of the time the kids are either downstairs or outside playing. They come to the main floor (where I work) when they need to eat or to do crafts.
One of these days I hope to not have to work at all. I would really love to be able to homeschool the girls or at least work part time while they are in school so I can attend school functions. I don't know where this road will lead us but God does. For now, I will soak up the moments I can with them being able to be home with me while I work. I will soak up the laughter that I hear as the kids play together. I will soak up the little art projects that are done during the day to keep them busy. Sometimes the here and now might not be what we like or have hoped for, but we need to look past those ideas and thoughts and realize that life's greatest adventures are waiting for us to explore and enjoy. Just because we might not be happy with something, doesn't mean that it will always be like this. If we can change it, then we need to figure out the best possible way to do that. If it cannot be changed, that is ok, but we need to learn to deal with it at the moment and find joy beyond that point. I don't like being a working mom, but it has to be done. I don't like that my babies have to be cared for someone else during the day. However, this might not last. There might be a chance down the road I will be able to be home full time. If not, that is ok too because I relish in the moments that my babies are laughing from the fun they are having, or the excitement in their eyes when they show me their art project that they got to do with Ms. Laura. There are those rare occasions that I have to go into office, and on those days I try not to complain simply because I know it won't last. I know that it's worth it when I walk in that door and I hear that sweet voice go "Hi Mommy! I missed you!"
So, a working mom might suck but it does have some great rewards behind it. Picking that little one up from daycare and hearing the squeals coming from that cute little body because they are so excited to see their mommy or daddy is one of my favorite sounds. Feeling that warm hug around your neck after a hard day at work is one of the best relaxing moments you will ever experience. Talking to your excited child about all that they did that day washes away any crap that you might have had to deal with while at work yourself. Seeing that smile on your child's face makes your work disappear as you focus on what really matters in your life - your child. Are you soaking up the little moments or are you letting them slip on by?
After Anna came in to our family, I made the decision to stay home and not work. At the time I was a teacher. After a couple of months, we realized that ideally this wasn't going to work for our family. We really needed that extra income to help keep our family afloat. On top of things, we had decided to move to Utah.
Within a week or 2 of moving to Utah I started working for a company that is an online realtor. I had no idea that working from home with them was even an option until during training. I worked towards being able to be deployed and was told that I would in January. Then I got a nice Christmas present from them...I was able to go home sooner. I started working from home the week before Christmas, just 3 months after being there. I was excited especially since Steve and I decided to move to the Salt Lake area as that's where Steve's job is and the commute for him was horrible. We thought I could commute for about a month knowing that I'd be working from home and wouldn't need to after that. Then I got the good news to start sooner rather than later. That was a nice surprise indeed.
I have been able to keep Anna home with me while working from home. This has been nice, but slightly frustrating as I can't keep my full attention on her as I would like. She is very smart and loves to learn, but sitting down with her to really do any kind of schooling is hard to do. I do teachable moments when I can, but I know she'd love to have a bit of schooling in there as well. This girl can sing her ABC's (she gets tripped up around L, M, N, O, P, but who doesn't right? haha), knows how to count to 10 and almost to 20 (she misses just a few numbers), and she knows a lot of her colors. I know she's ready, but I just can't do it during the week when I work. When I was off of on leave after having Olivia, it was so nice. We worked on school type things while Olivia slept. She loved it! So basically, if I had my way, I wouldn't work. If only being a homemaker was an actual job that would actually pay - that would be amazing!
I have a friend who comes to my house to watch the girls. If I am able to, I will nurse Olivia, but if I can't, I do have enough milk in my freezer for her. She's not a fan of a bottle but oh well. My friend has a 2 and half year old son that she bring with her. Listening to him and Anna play is priceless. I know that my girls are being greatly cared for, but it still hurts my heart that it can't be me fully. Being a working mom is tough! I can't imagine if I had to actually go somewhere and drop the girls off at some form of daycare. It pulls on my heart strings just being home with them and having someone care for them in my own home. I try to take in the little moments the best I can though. Anna loves to come over and give me hugs, give me pretend soup or coffee, give me a "phone" to talk on, or just to hang out with me while I work. She longs for attention from me, more than I can fully give, but I try my best to soak up those moments. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have that. I'm very blessed to work for a company that does allow me to work at home. They do have a policy that childcare must be in place - so being able to find someone willing to care for them in my home has been amazing. Most of the time the kids are either downstairs or outside playing. They come to the main floor (where I work) when they need to eat or to do crafts.
One of these days I hope to not have to work at all. I would really love to be able to homeschool the girls or at least work part time while they are in school so I can attend school functions. I don't know where this road will lead us but God does. For now, I will soak up the moments I can with them being able to be home with me while I work. I will soak up the laughter that I hear as the kids play together. I will soak up the little art projects that are done during the day to keep them busy. Sometimes the here and now might not be what we like or have hoped for, but we need to look past those ideas and thoughts and realize that life's greatest adventures are waiting for us to explore and enjoy. Just because we might not be happy with something, doesn't mean that it will always be like this. If we can change it, then we need to figure out the best possible way to do that. If it cannot be changed, that is ok, but we need to learn to deal with it at the moment and find joy beyond that point. I don't like being a working mom, but it has to be done. I don't like that my babies have to be cared for someone else during the day. However, this might not last. There might be a chance down the road I will be able to be home full time. If not, that is ok too because I relish in the moments that my babies are laughing from the fun they are having, or the excitement in their eyes when they show me their art project that they got to do with Ms. Laura. There are those rare occasions that I have to go into office, and on those days I try not to complain simply because I know it won't last. I know that it's worth it when I walk in that door and I hear that sweet voice go "Hi Mommy! I missed you!"
So, a working mom might suck but it does have some great rewards behind it. Picking that little one up from daycare and hearing the squeals coming from that cute little body because they are so excited to see their mommy or daddy is one of my favorite sounds. Feeling that warm hug around your neck after a hard day at work is one of the best relaxing moments you will ever experience. Talking to your excited child about all that they did that day washes away any crap that you might have had to deal with while at work yourself. Seeing that smile on your child's face makes your work disappear as you focus on what really matters in your life - your child. Are you soaking up the little moments or are you letting them slip on by?
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