I started thinking about all of the things I've done since I quit my job to be a full-time parent.
- I've birthed and raised two kids who still need a significant amount of raising.
- I've run two PTAs and started several other PTAs.
- I've done advocacy work in education.
- I ran for School Board.
- I've written three books which are languishing unpublished.
- I've recovered from my ACL repair.
- I've gone out to lunch and talked on the phone with friends.
- I taught myself how to quilt.
- I've probably read 250-500 books.
- I've driven 30,000 carpool miles.
In the past few weeks while I have been waiting for my training to start. I've been racing around, trying to get stuff done before I start, like making sure I go to lunch or for a walk with everyone I know. I feel like I am going to be leaving on a long trip and I need to say goodbye before I leave.
I was thinking of all of the things I wish I had done in my time off. I wish I had cooked more meals and expanded my cooking repertoire instead of going out to dinner so often. When I had time to cook, I didn't. I don't like to cook, so that explains some of it, but maybe if I had found some new recipes, I might have enjoyed it more. Tonight, I cooked Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk that I found in this weekend's New York Times. We'll see how it tastes.
I have a few frivolous projects I wished I've worked on, like rebuilding all of my son's Lego sets. I know that seems like a Sisyphean task, but it might have been cool. I wish I would have made more quilts. I wish I would have read more books.
So why am I going back to work when I could sit around all day and go to coffee with friends, walk Green Lake, write, cook and rebuild Lego sets? Pretty sweet life, eh?
Ironically, I am looking forward to the freedom and independence a job will bring. Being a stay-at-home mom means my family work and home are the same. There is no break, no vacation, no division. This winter before I could ski, I was sitting in the ski lodge and a family with three young kids joined me at my table. The mom was cheerful and perky, making faces with her kids in SnapChat. I was never so easy and free with my kids, and I wish I had been. This mom worked. She had a line and barrier between her and her kids. She seemed to cherish her kids just because they were there. I never missed my kids because they were always around. I never had a "vacation" from work because my work was my family and my family was always around. When we would take a real vacation, I was still working.
This is what I am looking forward to--freedom and independence from my family. Here I am trying to raising independent and responsible people, and yet I am not independent. I was talking to my friend Sangita, and she said her kids basically have her as a servant who makes them food, drives them places, and makes sure all of their clothes are clean. Those are reasonable expectations for parents of toddlers and young children, but when should kids start to carry their own water? Next year, both of my able-bodied kids will be in high school. They and my husband can take care of themselves without me tailing behind making sure everything gets done.
I am not going to romanticize working and being a parent because I know it will be hard. I know starting a new job will be hard, for them and for me, but I am looking at this as my Independence Day. And theirs, too.
I was thinking of all of the things I wish I had done in my time off. I wish I had cooked more meals and expanded my cooking repertoire instead of going out to dinner so often. When I had time to cook, I didn't. I don't like to cook, so that explains some of it, but maybe if I had found some new recipes, I might have enjoyed it more. Tonight, I cooked Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk that I found in this weekend's New York Times. We'll see how it tastes.
I have a few frivolous projects I wished I've worked on, like rebuilding all of my son's Lego sets. I know that seems like a Sisyphean task, but it might have been cool. I wish I would have made more quilts. I wish I would have read more books.
So why am I going back to work when I could sit around all day and go to coffee with friends, walk Green Lake, write, cook and rebuild Lego sets? Pretty sweet life, eh?
Ironically, I am looking forward to the freedom and independence a job will bring. Being a stay-at-home mom means my family work and home are the same. There is no break, no vacation, no division. This winter before I could ski, I was sitting in the ski lodge and a family with three young kids joined me at my table. The mom was cheerful and perky, making faces with her kids in SnapChat. I was never so easy and free with my kids, and I wish I had been. This mom worked. She had a line and barrier between her and her kids. She seemed to cherish her kids just because they were there. I never missed my kids because they were always around. I never had a "vacation" from work because my work was my family and my family was always around. When we would take a real vacation, I was still working.
This is what I am looking forward to--freedom and independence from my family. Here I am trying to raising independent and responsible people, and yet I am not independent. I was talking to my friend Sangita, and she said her kids basically have her as a servant who makes them food, drives them places, and makes sure all of their clothes are clean. Those are reasonable expectations for parents of toddlers and young children, but when should kids start to carry their own water? Next year, both of my able-bodied kids will be in high school. They and my husband can take care of themselves without me tailing behind making sure everything gets done.
I am not going to romanticize working and being a parent because I know it will be hard. I know starting a new job will be hard, for them and for me, but I am looking at this as my Independence Day. And theirs, too.
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