One of the questions John and I get a lot is when/if I will be going back to work. This is one of the biggest questions for a lot of Moms, although not everyone has full liberty in making the decision; that is, the ability to either stay at home, go back to work or some combination thereof. I am extremely blessed to have all of those options. Before Baby Z was born, I knew I wanted to give myself lots of time to be home with him and really settle into being a full-time Mom. The past almost 9 months have been priceless. I have so enjoyed learning my new role and learning about this new little person in our lives.
In the first few months, I struggled with the work question, wondering if I could be the Mom I want to be and still work. My employers are very open to alternative arrangements, like working from home, so I knew I would have flexibility and the option to work as few or as many hours as I wanted. I wrote down lists and lists of my priorities and things I didn't want to give up if I started to work again (like exercising, or going to the park in the middle of the day). The biggest thing is that I don't want to be stressed like I used to be working full-time-- rushing through things and feeling exhausted at the end of the day. I don't want to be so busy that I start to feel like I don't have enough to give to John or Baby Z.
After a lot of thinking, praying and planning, I have decided to go back to work. I'm going to work 8-10 hours a week and do 4 of those hours from home. I'll go into the office one day a week while my Mom watches Baby Z. The time Baby Z gets to spend with Grandma will be beneficial for both him and Grandma. And I feel like the amount of time working will be just the right challenge for my entire week (how I work at the office and at home).
I'm excited for this new chapter of balancing home life and a work life. It's going to be challenging, I'm sure. And if I start to get panicky about it, I just remember that nothing is permanent and if I don't like it, or it is too hard, I can always go back to being a full-time Mom at home. I am so extremely thankful for the options and liberty I have to make these decisions.
P.S. I'm also extremely thankful that my old work clothes fit now. Yeah!!
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1 comment:
It's awesome that you get to work a few hours and balance that with being home. That sounds like a great flexible job. I work from home, as a writer, and it's challenging at times, but also rewarding.
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