I don't regret one single moment of leaving full-time work. Sure I miss the life of a newspaperwoman and my fun coworkers...I miss going to neat assignments, meeting famous people, getting on the sidelines, using sweet camera equipment and seeing my name in print every day. But I don't miss the stress or the long hours.
Not being attached to the paper full time allowed me to travel, one of my favorite things. In the last year we took trips to: Salt Lake City, Laramie, Choteau, Billings, Indiana, Flathead Lake, Cooke City, Dubois, Great Falls, Cody, Powell, Bozeman, Seeley Lake, Butte, Anaconda, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Lake Alva, Arlee, Hauser, Holter and Canyon Ferry Lakes and of course Missoula and Greybull more than I can remember. What freedom. It was a joy to take Adeline all those places without having to miss work!
This time with Adeline has also allowed me the opportunity to build my photography business. Sure I only work a couple hours a week and there's usually a toddler jabbering away in the background while I'm on business calls but I have sweet personalized business cards :)
With my new business I have been able to enjoy a handful of fun freelance assignments while being a stay-at-home-mom. In the last year I've had the pleasure of photographing political events, college basketball, parades, feature stories, a poster campaign, weddings, numerous portraits and advertisements, and even a state basketball tournament.
I've also had more time for my husband and for myself. I feel like a more centered woman. Without the sporadic hours of the newspaper I have more time for my friends and family, time for daily bible study, time to decorate, time to volunteer, time for exercise, time to read, time for just me. I am now home when JD gets home from work, I get to cook him homemade dinners from scratch and I have the time to keep up on the housework (although JD helps out more than I expect.)
As I reflect on this last year I am so grateful to have taken the leap and had the faith to slim down to a single-income family in a rough economy. Yes money has been tight and we've ate our share of ramen when JD was between jobs, however I wouldn't trade being home with Adeline as she developed in her first year of life. Our family and friends have been very supportive both in good friendship and financially when times have been tough. And above all God has provided for us and taken care of us.
To me the best part of leaving the paper is that I get to be at home with my daughter, every day. And we don't have to pay someone else to watch her. The schedule of a toddler is truly awesome, we go to the library for storytime, eat delicious healthy food, we sometimes stay in our jammies till lunch, we go to church playgroup and mothers groups, we go for long walks in our neighborhood, go swimming, hiking or to the park to play, and we take naps in the middle of the afternoon together. It's a blessing to be Adeline's full-time caregiver and it's been a joy to have been a positive teacher for her, a positive mother and the best playmate she could hope for.
Maybe someday I will return to a daily newspaper career. But for now I'm quite content with my "work days" full of finger painting, goldfish, books, diapers, snuggling and a boss who is the most beautiful, caring baby girl in the whole world ~ our daughter Adeline Grace.
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