Following the birth of our daughter in October I resigned my position at the outdoor gear retail store where I had been working for the past almost four years. Since my decision to stay at home with the little ones it has occurred to me that it is far more socially acceptable to walk away from a college eduction to stay at home with children than it is to walk away from the same education and work retail. Odd. I loved the industry I was working in, I count my former co-workers as my friends, I throughly enjoyed my job--and I went to work in shorts and sandals. Isn't that the meaning of success--loving what you do and doing what you love? (To the one person who just said, "Nu-uh...it's about making money"--you're sad and delusional, we have nothing further to talk about, get off my blog.) However, as much as I enjoyed my job, there were times when I felt the need to explain that I did have a college degree and yes, I could understand big words. Now, it's almost as if I've been raised to this coveted position of being the stay-at-home-mommy that other moms on the playground only dream of.
Here's the ironic kicker--we are better off financially and as a family unit with me not pulling in a paycheck than we were when I was. Hmmm. Not much of a sacrifice. Even me and my limited math skills figured that one out pretty quick. My staying home has freed up Husband's schedule in such a way that not only is he able to pick up some of the off-duty jobs he enjoys, he is also able to go back to school. Between his school grant and his employer's tuition reimbursement, his tuition is paid for. He also receives the GI bill for school--money in the bank and the wife can stay home. While I usually feel completely and totally unqualified for the job of "Mommy" our little household seems to be thriving on the change.
No comments:
Post a Comment