No More Rat Race

For those of you who don't know, there are big changes in our household effective January 1st. After 7 1/2 years of working non-stop, I am officially a stay at home mom.

Having twins obviously turned our world upside down (in a good way of course). It seemed as babies things were a bit easier to keep up with, but as the girls have gotten older the twin thing is actually harder. Harder to give 2 DIFFERENT girls what they need, harder to keep up with the household chores, harder to nourish my marriage, & myself. After nights of endless prayers & pleading to God that I didn't think I could physically & mentally keep up with the rat race of commuting, working, coming home eating a quick (non-nutritious) meal, spending little to no quality time with my family, staying up doing paperwork, going to bed & doing it all over again-God answered my prayer in a little different way than I expected. But isn't that the beauty of God? Just when we least expect it, an answer is revealed.

We were told in August that our nursing home had sold, effective September 1st & our therapy contract was in jeopardy. However, we were assured in late September that our contract had been renewed, no more job worries. Completely out of the blue December 4th, a call from our big boss revealed our contract was cancelled effective December 31st. We were to be reassigned more than 2 hours away which was obviously not an option for me. Signing on with the new company was an option, although it would be more stringent hours, plus weekend rotations, & probably less pay. Maybe this was my answer, my way out. To solve the crazy rat race our lives had become, to spend more quality time with my children.

We found out last April that Geneva & Lexa will be our only children after an unsuccessful frozen embryo cycle. I always thought I would have one more chance to be a better mother, one more chance to work less, one more chance to be there for the firsts. After a closer look at our budget we realized that although my income is nice & has allowed us a lot of luxuries we could do without if need be. After all, my income had become LOTS of taxes, $1600+ month in childcare, trips out to eat because I didn't have time to cook, & gas commuting to work. Just maybe with careful budgeting we could do without it.

So I turned down the offer from my current company to relocate 2 hours away & turned down the offer with the new company & have enjoyed my first week at home!! Let me just say this is the first week in over 3 years I am not DRAGGING. My house looks wonderful! I have spent the week organizing the kitchen & 2 of the bedrooms. Declutter is my moto! I have cooked good, nutritious meals every night, & have enjoyed taking the girls to the library, playground, grocery shopping, & other errands that I have never gotten to do.

This will be a big adjustment. I am going to work some on a PRN (substitute) basis & am very fortunate that my career path allows me to do so. Living on a teacher's salary, where unfortunately our health insurance is more expensive than our house payment, means no more eating out or shopping & really sticking to a budget. But for a year or two, to be able to spend time with my girls, will be well worth it. Life is about simplicity & not getting caught up in keeping up with your neighbors. You know the best thing about working with elderly patients is the advice I have gotten over the years on a variety of topics. EVERY single patient told me that they did not regret one minute they sacrificed to stay at home with their children & that God will find a way to provide. As one told me on my last day of work, "we can live on less than we think we can. Enjoy every minute."