When Wes and I were engaged and the discussion of kids came up, he mentioned how his goal was to be able to earn enough so that I could stay home. I thought he was a Neanderthal. I'm pretty sure I was upset with him for the mere mention of keeping me at home with our non existent children. But after five years of marriage when we finally decided to have kids, the idea started to make more sense to me. And by the time Taylor was a 9 pound butterball baby in my stomach, I knew I'd be home for a while despite how tight we'd be financially.
It worked out that I was allowed to work two days a week as an interpreter. Due in large part to the generosity of my mom and mother in law. They watched Taylor and eventually Corinne, two days a week. But to say that they just watched them is a gross understatement. On the days when I ventured into the adult world and had adult conversations with lunch and bathroom breaks, they did everything from taking care of the kids, to taking care of the dog, to making us dinner and cleaning the house. And for almost 8 years, that's what they did for us. I always looked forward to coming home on the days when the moms were here.
But all good things must come to an end, I guess. And I'm off to work full time in two short weeks. I have extremely mixed feelings about it, but I'm hoping for the best. Both kids will be in school, and the second full time income will come in handy. I asked Wes for a year "off" but he turned me down. What would I do, anyway? Actually, I'm sure I could keep myself busy, but it's just not in the cards Luckily my hours will be the same as the kids, so I'll be able to pick them up after school and get that initial reaction to how their day went. I keep telling myself we'll all be fine, and I'm sure we will be. I don't do well with change, so I'll just have to put my big girl panties on and adjust. It's been a good run, and I'm glad I was home for the last 7 years during the good, the bad, and the wonderful.
In the meantime, we are living it up these last two weeks, trying to fit in everything from the beach, to a lemonade stand. How we'll get up at 6 am when school starts, I have no idea.
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| preschool graduation |
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| Big Sur |
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| Crawdads that Taylor caught, and Papa cooked. |
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| Trail to the fairy house. |
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| My favorite niece. |
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Corinne's dance recital. She hates attention, unless she's on stage and then she eats it up.
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| Visit with the White family. |
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| Palm Springs Children's Museum with my good friend, Becky, and her brood. |
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| Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary party. |
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| Murder mystery train in Fillmore. |
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| My talented girl. |
The 62 Year Old Spy from
Nikki Pollard on
Vimeo.
