Good Morning, I hope everyone had a great weekend!
First, I want to give
Faith a huge THANK YOU for giving me a shout out on her blog. If you haven't checked her out, you should! She is one of the most down to earth bloggers that I follow! What I like best about her (it's hard to think of just one, but I must) is that she is genuinely a fun person. She doesn't just blog about her super weekends or great finds, she blogs about Life, Love, & Marriage, in it's truest form! Thanks again Faith, you're the best!
OK, back to the subject at hand! The subject of staying home has come up a lot in my daily conversations lately. I get the "do you really like staying home" question at least once a week, mostly by family or friends that don't have kids.
To answer that question, I will start from the very beginning. When I was pregnant with Jordan I was sure that I would go back after my maternity leave. In my opinion, I needed to work. I got my first job at 16, worked my way through college, and had been at the same job for 4 years at the time. I didn't love the people that I worked for, but I truly loved my job. Ashish and I went back and forth for nearly 7 months. He used to joke and say "that woman is going back to work. If I can't stay home, she can't stay home." You'd have to truly know my husband to understand but he would never make that decision for me. He knew me, he knew that I needed the social outlet that was work. I'm a people person, I enjoy conversation, get togethers, and all parties.
Two weeks before Christmas, I made the decision to quit my job. Just like that. Of course I gave a two week notice, which my boss declined, but I quit. I packed up my belongings from my classroom, handed over my keys, and said "I wish you all the best in life and have a Merry Christmas." There wasn't any one incident that led me to this decision. I was working a job were I was unappreciated and over worked (isn't everyone?). I was blessed to have the choice to continue working or stay home. I sat down and weighed the disadvantages against the advantages. The advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.
Advantages:
I got to see Jordan every morning.
It made the attempt to breastfeed so much easier
On the days that Ashish was off, we got to spend time as a family
I made new friends
I got to have lunch with my dad every Friday
Disadvantages:
Always being "on call." I could never use the excuse "I gotta get up in the morning, can you get the baby?"
The social aspect, until I made other SAH mommy friends
Not getting a paycheck. We live comfortably on one paycheck but I was used to making my own money.
So, the question..."Do you really like staying at home?" My answer is "YES." Being at home is a much harder task than most people know. Ashish works crazy hours, he has days off during the week some weeks, and he works every third weekend. If I worked, I wouldn't see him much during the week and on that third weekend I wouldn't see him at all. I wasn't comfortable putting Jordan in daycare as a baby. I am was a paranoid parent.
If you have the option to stay home, I would say "give it a try" or "try it part time." Staying home isn't the best thing for everyone. There may come a day when it gets to be too much or the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Enjoy it if you can and if you can't, know that your kids will still be well rounded as the next kid!
Have a Happy Monday Ladies!
3. Girl's Night. Apple Martinis, old school rap and hip hop...enough said.
Posts
