I Never Thought I'd be a SAHM

I never really aspired to be a stay at home mom {SAHM}.  I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, truly loved teaching and working in general.  I never really imagined myself staying home with kids.  I taught 2nd and 3rd grade for almost ten years, got my masters and cheered my husband along as he got his masters and now he's wrapping up his PhD.  I've always loved kids, working with kids and spent my days in a classroom surrounded by other people's children.  I loved planning lessons, decorating my classroom, working with students and communicating with parents.  I didn't work nights & weekends (although teachers have a TON of take home work they do for FREE :), had summers off and figured that it would be a good arrangement if we were blessed with children one day.

Fast forward to 2013, we have a baby girl on the way, we just found out we were moving across the country {again} and decisions were needing to be made.  I couldn't take a year off from my teaching job and teach in another state, we weren't sure how long we'd be in Arkansas and we were now forced to be responsible and start thinking about childcare.  How would we find someone we could trust to take care of our 6 week old baby when we had just moved to a new city?  How would I apply and interview for jobs when I was super pregnant??  So many questions and we prayed for answers.  

I"m not a worrier by nature so I trusted that things would fall into place.  It's funny how God works things out for you or oftentimes His plan is even better than you could have imagined.  We felt like we were being pointed in the direction for me to say home with the baby while Kevin was on his internship.  Our game plan was to rent an apartment near his job, to rely on our savings and for me to stay home with Olive for the year.  My husband and I were both relieved and it was nice to know what we were going to be doing for the coming year.  

I was a little nervous about how the transition to staying home full time would go.  I had been a successful working woman for the last 10+ years always contributing financially to our family.  I enjoyed working and loved keeping busy with teaching.  Olive wouldn't be sending me a pay check each month and I'd have to get accustomed to her paying me in smiles, kisses and letting me witness her 1st year milestones.  It's been a little tough to know that I'm not bringing in a pay check, especially when I'm the one paying the bills, but I know that my contribution to our family and our baby is SO important. People always say that kids grow up so quickly and it really is amazing.  Olive is learning new things daily and changes so much week to week.  I know I'll always be thankful for this time we are home together.

The transition from working full time to working full time at home has gone really well.  I love staying home with Olive and couldn't imagine trying to find childcare in a brand new city.  My husband doesn't have to stress about getting up at night with the baby and then having to wake up early for work.  I get up with her during the week and he helps out on the weekends.  We've settled into life in Little Rock and we really are hitting our mother/daughter stride.  Olive is much more predictable now than when she was so tiny.  We can run errands with ease, she likes schedules and routines just as much as I do and we are really enjoying our time together.

I don't think there is a right or wrong thing to do regarding child care when you have children.  You have to do what is best for your family and what works well for you.  If we had stayed in Salt Lake, I would probably have taken off time at the beginning of the year to be home with Olive and returned to teaching when she was just a few months old.  I had a job I loved and coworkers that were like family.  Since we had to make a move, my job is on hold.  I'm okay with that and it really was the best thing for my family.  I've seen several examples of wonderful working parents who make it work for their family and everyone thrives.  I've also seen wonderful examples of stay at home parenting.   The bottom line is: parenting is tricky and it's hard work regardless of where you are working.

I don't have a specific time table to go back to teaching.  Some days I miss it - it seems odd to not have a classroom full of cute students this year- but I'm thankful to spend my days at home with my very favorite little girl.  I hope to stay home with her while she's little and then get back to teaching when she's a little older.  I treasure our time together and am thankful for this opportunity.  We probably have a few more moves in our future so I'm looking forward to enjoying being a Mom and giving that my all.  My husband is currently applying for jobs for next year so we are excited to see where that will take our family.

I never aspired to be a Stay at Home Mom,

but I sure am thankful for the opportunity to be one.