I mean, the failure to blog is certainly not due to a lack of happenings in my life! In the time since I last wrote, in addition to the many activities of our daily life, my older son finished kindergarten and my younger son gave up naps... we went on our annual Family Vacation... we switched parishes... and, most importantly, I became a Stay-at-Home Mom!
Most of those happenings had blog-worthy crafts associated with them, but... I just never got a chance to do it! My days at work were stressful & turbulent, and my time at home was end-of-school-year busy! I'm hoping I'll have more time available to create & to post, now that I'm home full time!
For now, I just wanted to share about my new SAHM status. I have wanted to be an at-home mom for as long as I can remember... it was always what I envisioned when I was younger (probably because I had an amazing mom who was home with us), and from the moment my first child was born almost 7 years ago, I've prayed daily for a way to make it happen. Seriously, I cried EVERY DAY that I had to leave my babies at day care & go to my job (despite the fact that their day care center was AMAZING!), and my wonderful hubby & I were working our tushies off to get to the place where we could afford it.
News Flash: we cannot afford it. But, as we all know, God doesn't work according to our plans; He answers prayers in His own time, and often in unexpected ways... in this case, an unexpected & SCARY way: on May 7, I was let go from my job. Due to restructuring of the office in the wake of a merger, my position was eliminated, and therefore I was terminated. It was terrifying at first, and I was hurt, angry, sad... but after taking some time to process it, I came to recognize it for the blessing it truly was - my work environment was getting more & more stressful, and my new boss was almost emotionally abusive, so my anxiety was not going to handle it much longer... but, honestly, would I ever have had the courage to quit, even once we decided it was time? I doubt it! God gave me the kick in the butt I needed ;)
Our plan was to have our finances healthier enough for me to quit in October, so being pushed into it 5 months earlier has been a challenge. My amazing, supportive, hardworking hubby is picking up every minute of overtime he can find, and I found a job taking reservations for a tour company in Gettysburg, working on a cell phone from home (or aldi, or the pool, or my van...), but our budget is TIGHT! We've cut out extras, slimmed down our grocery shopping, and I've started getting creative with my household practices (hello, clothesline!)... and I can tell you, without a single shred of doubt, that it is WORTH IT! I have never been happier than I am as a SAHM, and I'm so looking forward to being able to volunteer in my son's classroom, chaperone field trips, and tackle all the household projects I've never had time for.
God is good, y'all, all the time!
