The Transition
Recently I have made the life style change from business powerhouse to Stay at Home Mom. This was a hard choice that has been meant to benefit our beautiful family. I am a step mom of three kids and biological mom to one. You read that correctly, FOUR kids total. I am outnumbered every day. When the kids get really excited they all start talking at once and then the toddler starts yell babbling because she can. I wouldn't change it for the world. We have a flock of chickens, I maintain a decent sized garden, and energy drinks have become my life line (a green ice cold monster first thing in the morning brightens my day).
What made the change? My boyfriend has always told me to follow my dreams and has always been my support system. I wanted to finish my Business Management degree after a painful six years (yes, six years. Another story for another time). He was in the stadium when I walked and I held that degree high over my head. I wanted to switch from running a business to staying on the side lines and continue to get my certified pharmacy technician license? He helped me study. My boyfriend was presented with an opportunity that would support our family in ways that I hadn't been able to yet. Not only did it have that benefit, but he was excited. It has lead to chaotic hours and a new rhythm that we needed to see our family through. That meant that both of us couldn't work. I wanted to support him like he has supported me.
This meant that I had to make the choice. Do I stay in business or do I become a stay at home mom? Daycare hasn't really been an option for us for two reasons. For us personally, we didn't want the money we made to have to go right back to someone watching the children. Secondarily, we were concerned about illness and other injuries from daycare (especially with our youngest just turning two years old). Our oldest is in Track and our two middle children are in Athletic Swim. How can I ask someone else to get my kids around, be home to put food on the table, keep work perfect, AND never miss an event? I can't. I have a village, but even the village would get tired. Side note: I also have awesome time management skills, but even those skills would start lacking after a couple weeks. I would imagine my brain like a windows browser with several tabs open. I have the main screen, but somewhere in the background one of them is playing music and I can't figure out which one. CTRL, ALT, DELETE please.
I decided to go with everyday with the kids, more time in the garden, and I don't have to keep reporting to someone else. Sign me up Please! Now I always admired Stay at Home Mothers because even on my maternity leave, I was itching to go back to work. If I had to clean the same dish, or wash the same towel one more time.. I think at one point I did scream into a pillow like a 90's girl having a temper tantrum ( I also had a lot of hormones going through my body, but that's besides the point). I have been determined to be the best Stay at Home Mom I can be. I read another article where you think of it as your career. When I thought of it from that point of view. It helped.
If you are going from working all the time to being a Stay at Home mom, then this blog is absolutely for you. If your thinking of making the change and need a push in one direction or the other, that is fine too. I am going to talk about my experiences and stories and how I have felt through it all. It is meant to be comforting so you know that you aren't alone. It is a life style change, that has brought me happiness, but that gut feeling wondering how maybe I have wasted my talents. If anything I am learning that these experiences and talents I have gained, are just making me even more qualified to manage my home in the best way possible. Well for our house.
