Stay Home Mommy--the BIG decision

Growing up, I always thought that I would be a working mom--that's what my mom did and I thought I would follow in the same footsteps. I grew up hearing from my parents that I needed to go to school and make something of myself so that I could take care of myself and not have to depend on anyone, so I studied engineering. After 4 years of engineering school, I was still convinced that I would continue to work once I had kids, but God had other desires that he planted in my heart as I really began thinking about motherhood. As you may know, from my previous posts, I was in the hospital 7 weeks 1 day prior to Kateli's birth. Add to that another 8 weeks for maternity leave, and you end up with 15 weeks out of work--I couldn't imagine going back--it was such a remote idea to me by now. On top of that, I had this beautiful little girl that I was going to have to leave home day after day if I decided to go back full time--it was a tough call. I was very strongly against putting her in childcare. I wanted to be part of my child's life as she grew up. I admire moms that can juggle both a full time job in the workforce and the full time job at home with the kids--I couldn't do it. In the end, hubby and I decided that we could handle me staying home with our baby, rather than working and paying for childcare. So, grandma and grandpa came to stay with Kateli for the 2 weeks that I went back. I put in my resignation and said goodbye to what had been my identity for the last 5 1/2 years. I had a new identity now, "Kateli's mommy" and I loved that! My last day at work was very hard and emotional--I enjoyed so much working with everyone, and I knew I was going to miss the camaraderie! I still go back every once in a while to say hi!