Photo by AnnaKika
I've always been a homebody. So when I knew I was going to become a mother, it felt quite natural to stay home with my children.
I'm not a great multi-tasker, so I take my hat off to you moms who work outside the home and must therefore juggle a variety of challenges that never appear on my radar.
Me, I'm no juggler. Just a gal who likes to stay home, read, and write all day. And take care of kiddos, too.
I loved education and university, back in the day, but was never super career-minded.
The "staying home" part of this equation therefore came naturally, but the "mom" part required more of an evolution. A path full of stops, starts, highs, lows, joys, challenges, unknowns, and rewards.
I rode the babysitting circuit as a teen because that's just what you did if you were a good girl and wanted to make extra cash. But I never especially enjoyed it, and often watched the clock until the parents came back so I could go home and read a good book. (Some things never change--though just so you won't think I was a total loner, I did dance on the cool squad in high school. That's right, mamas, Jamie in spandex leotards on the football field!)
Steve and I married young and wanted to enjoy our time together before signing up for the responsibility of parenthood. So by the time Jonathan came along and I entered the mothering world, I was 28--the perfect age, I thought, to start a family.
I never imagined then that I would add three kids to the ranks in three years. But I did, and with every moment found myself fitting more and more into this role--and eventually our choice to homeschool followed.
Settling in to motherhood came naturally to me.
Except when it didn't.
Like when I had no chance of getting a break for several days, when I realized that all children (even my own) will throw tantrums, or when I saw what baby poop looks like spread across the living room rug.
Can I sign up for a job please? One far, far from home, preferably?!
Without quite looking for one, a job evolved for me. One that allows me to spend my days caring for little people and writing for all of you, for the readers of Simple Homeschool, the readers of my book, and those of my new blog Steady Home Deals.
This was a dream come true.
Except when it wasn't.
Like when I needed to format a post even if all three kiddos had shouted at me that morning, when I felt like my kids were learning nothing but I had to write about teaching your children to read, or when the weeks of collected gunk in the cracks of the bathtub meant I couldn't bathe my little ones. (Um, wait a minute, that was just last night.)
Steve and I recently realized that I needed some outside help so I could continue to care for my sweet charges and still manage this beautiful job of writing that I love. I have books inside of me, more books, but not the time to get them out of my brain and onto paper.
And so we hired an incredible young lady to care for the kids two mornings a week--allowing me sanity time to write and tackle new projects.
This was an answered prayer.
Except when it wasn't.
Like when the kids went crazy to show off their worst behavior for our new sitter, when I heard words like "Can't we have a break from sitters--We miss you, Mommy," or when I tearfully realized that this new schedule just wasn't working out.
I made the choice to cut our amazing sitter back to just one morning a week.
Those books inside my brain? They'll stay right where they are at the moment.
I have decades ahead of me in which to scribble thousands of words on many pages. But I only have today with my growing little people.
And, for now, I know that this is the perfect solution for us.
...except when it isn't.
**Have you noticed the constant evolution of what motherhood means for you in the midst of various life seasons?**
