For the past four years I have been a stay-at-home mom. When I stayed home with my first, I only managed to do it for two years. I went back to work, and we moved back into the city. Then she came along, and I decided to try it again. Maybe this time it would be different. I had no idea what to expect.
The first time we lived way out of the city, and I was lonely. Honestly, I think he was too. He was turning three, and he needed to have that interaction. I tried to keep him busy, but there were days that it just seemed impossible. We would walk for hours and count the rabbits, look under rocks, and search for someone to talk to. He would push his yellow and blue truck so far and fast that at night his legs would ache. I had a wonderful play group who kept my sanity, but we would only meet once a week. The worst part was we lived so far from each other. During the beautiful months, we would go to the zoo. I would take him to the library which was a half hour long, but there were not people there who I wanted to be friends with. We would grocery shop, go to the gym, and every Wednesday we would eat pizza at Costco. My husband worked long hours, and the days never seemed to end.
Now the days seem to go so fast. This time my experience has been totally different. We still go to the gym and Costco, but it seems as if with two, there is never enough time for anything. I have a wonderful set of friends who we do play dates with quite often. We trade days and dates and meet at the park. A few have moved farther away, but I still have them to count on. This has been a much happier staying-at-home experience for me. I have friends and places close by. I do work from home now and that does take a few hours out of my day. Yet, I feel as though I have missed out on some of the little things. How have I managed to do that? How have I not taken her to the zoo as many times as I did him? How do we not do the library? Then I realize that our friends, mine and hers, have allowed us to have great play dates without having to go far. This time I wasn't the only one searching friends out; this time they found us… and what a great blessing they have been.
I feel as though every moment is taken up with laundry and dishes and just plain picking up toys and Legos and doing homework. Now I am looking for a position for the next school year and wondering, how in the world is it all going to fit into one day? It will have to, but she is ready for a full day of friends and learning, and I think I am too.
