Monday, October 10, 2011

work dread

I've had friends who went back to work after maternity leave and quit on arrival. Then I have friends who do just fine and can't imagine staying home all day taking care of a baby. I was positive I'd be in the latter category. Without a doubt.

Then Henry happened.



Don't get me wrong. There are days when I watch Shea shower, get dressed and drive off to work and envy seeps from my pores. There are days when he chatters on about his meetings, successful calls, jokes with coworkers and lunch with clients and then I bitterly report that my biggest accomplishments for the day were showering and unloading half the dishwasher. Oh, and I kept a human being alive.

But when I think about returning to work in a month, the dread suffocates me and knots my stomach. Because even the hard days are awesome.

I am the one who gets to see his smiley face each morning. I see the little changes in him everyday - the way he has found his hands, the little bubbles of drool that are starting to form, the scratch on his face, the way he has learned to flap his arm in the direction of a toy. When he wakes up from his nap, it's me he smiles at as if he hasn't seen me in weeks.

I know he'll always love his mama, and that he'll still want me (and his daddy) most. But I don't want anyone else to see the little changes first. I don't want to be sitting in a stale board meeting while he's smiling at someone else. And good grief, who wants to pump in the bathroom?

Right now we've decided I need to go back, at least for awhile. Though hopefully not until after Thanksgiving.

But oh what I would give to unload half the dishwasher and cuddle with my baby all day, every day.

1 comment:

  1. Do you think it's possible to do a part-time or a part-time work from home position for your job? We both knew that I wasn't going to work full-time away from home once our kiddos came, so I presented work with a part-time option that has me working from home 2 days a week plus putting in hours on the days I'm at home. It's a mama's dream! And yet there are weeks where I yearn to stay at home full-time, however I love my job and am blessed beyond belief that I'm able to be with my sweet babes as much as I can at this point in our lives.
    Best wishes! Pray, pray, PRAY! Sounds like God is working on your heart...you just have to figure out how He's doing it and OBEY! :)
    Henry's precious. Congrats again!
    - Amy

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