Changes

Working a demanding full-time job at home while raising three kids under three and sleeping in 2-3 hour intervals has been a big challenge for me, but somehow I've managed to do it for the past year and a half.  I constantly find myself nostalgic, however, for the days where I could play with my kids without having to check my work email every ten minutes, or when my daily schedule didn't revolve around conference calls. The stress has just been building up and affecting my physical and emotional well-being.  So earlier this week I talked to my boss about leaving the company.  Here's what this means for our family...



I would like to leave on good terms because I really like the company and everyone in it (my boss, especially, was very understanding regarding the adjustments I had to make when Baby H was born).  I also want to leave the door open for coming back at a later time if I want to, which seems like a definite possibility from the discussion I've had with my boss and the CEO of the company.  So this means that I have to finish up the project that I'm working on before I leave.  It's going to involve a lot of long hours and hard work over the next month and a half, but I'd rather deliver on my promises than leave the company with half-finished work that would be difficult for someone else to take over.  By July I should be free.

That means that I can start taking the kids to storytimes, classes, playgroups, etc.. without having to worry about my work schedule.  I want to be able to plan more specific homeschool activities for the twins, and set a better schedule for us rather than the ad-hoc approach we've been taking.  Extra time means I can dedicate more time to playing with Baby H.  It also means that I'll be able to finally fit in some much-needed time for myself to exercise, resume my hobbies (like sewing), and work on my own projects.  I'm looking forward to it!

Of course it's not going to be easy getting by on a single income, but if we stay on a budget and my husband's job stays around, we'll be ok.  I also have a feeling that without a full-time job, hubby is going to expect me to take on more responsibilities around the house, like cooking and cleaning every day.. ugh..  we'll have to see how that goes.  Finally, I really like the intellectual stimulation of having non-kid-related-work to do, which means I'll need to work on my own projects (I'm a serial entrepreneur, still hoping for a big success) and keep learning new things (applied mathematics is a hobby of mine that I'd like to take up again.. I know.. pretty geeky).   I'm pretty sure I'll be far from bored, though.