I hadn't even realized it had been so long. I hadn't even realized I wasn't doing it.
Of course, I mean this figuratively. I've been breathing. What I haven't been doing is thinking about myself, or my future, or the things that I want. I've only been thinking about the things that I need. To get through this moment, this day, this week. Usually not further ahead than that.
Being a stay at home mom is very, very hard. I've now been doing it for a little over 4 years. I've had a couple other gigs mixed in here and there; I've taught a few classes, I've done some landlording. But for a little over 4 years, my primary job has been taking care of 3 little people.
My kids are now 7, 4 and 2. The youngest two are 15 months apart. That was hard. I have one in 1st grade, one in half-day Pre-Kindergarten and one in half-day preschool 3 days a week. I'm finally at a point where they can play upstairs, out of sight, for an hour. And not kill themselves or burn the house down.
Over the past 9 months we've slowly been getting to this point. Emerging from the fog. I've gradually started to take care of myself again. I've started looking in the mirror and putting effort into my appearance. I've started to be more conscious about what I eat in order to realize why I've gained 30 pounds since Teddy was born (30 pounds!! Ugh.) At least I've finally stopped gaining. I've started to exercise, and ran a 10 mile race a few weeks ago. I was awfully slow, but I did it and it was a blast.
Now. Now I'm starting to think about what I want next. I have zero regrets about staying home with my kids. I was so torn about that decision before I made it, but since I started to stay home I have not regretted it a single day. But I am within sight of having the kids in full day school. And even now, if I found something I was really interested in, I could put them in their programs for full days. The idea of a regular, full-time job is a bit daunting, because of the hubs work schedule. There would be weeks we just wouldn't see each other, and the kids wouldn't see him. Unless I found something I was really passionate about, I can't imagine taking that on.
So I've started to ponder. What's next. Maybe another rental? More classes? I'm just not sure.
