Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I mean, I still always wanted to 'be something' when I grew up -a dentist, a teacher, a lawyer, a therapist... I went through quite a few.
Fast forward (more than) a few years. Baby number one was on the way and were in a position and made the decision for me to stay at home. And it was awesome. Well, not totally awesome, but I certainly didn't want to be anywhere else. After baby number two I felt a little different. I went through a period of time where I felt like I needed to be out of the house and get a job. I trip to a nearby day care center and a month or two of counseling (seriously -looking back, it was pretty obvious I had postpartum depression but was oblivious to it at the time) cured me of that desire. After baby number three I had pretty much decided I was never going back to work. Ever. I thought about going back to school at some point, but oddly enough I only wanted an advanced degree to enable me to teach online university courses.
A lot of reasons have kept me home. First, I wanted to be home. It's hard enough to keep the house clean(ish), the kids fed, clean(ish), and on time to their various activities, get to the gym and the grocery store with some regularity. Why would I want to add a part-time job to that?
Second, I believe in the importance of having a parent staying at home with the kids. It's not always possible, and I believe it isn't for everyone too. I certainly haven't regretted the time I have spent at home. We've definitely had the opportunity for a large amount of quantity of time, if not always the most quality amount of time.
And third, I've never thought that an opportunity would present itself with the flexibility I would need (having a husband with a sporadic work schedule) and pay enough that it would be worth the time away from home. Part time jobs in my field might pay $12 an hour, if you're lucky. Not really worth the effort if you're paying a babysitter $10 a hour to sit with the kids.
So, when a friend of mine mentioned that her employer needed to hire someone else and she mentioned the extreme flexibility it offered coupled with the compensation, I was interested. It's something in my field, doing the same type of work I did for the State, minus all of the court and legal issues I had to deal with. We were getting ready to list the house, so I sort of put off contacting her boss. I finally did, found out a few things from my friend, and then met with her today. And... told her I would work for her.
I'm sort of freaking out. Not in a 'I don't want to do this' sort of way. Mostly just, I can't believe after 6+ years of not working, I have a job. A job where I'll work a couple of hours a week out of the home, and another few at home. If it feels this strange going to work after such a long absence, I can't imagine how it would have felt if I had waited another 10 years to do it.
Now, if we could just sell our house...
