It’s my favorite time of year again, y’all: fall. Autumn. Harvest… whatever you like to call it. I love the word “autumn”, myself, but living in a small-ish town in Louisiana, I get looked at funny when I toss that word around. So I simply leave it at “fall” and go on with my days loving the cool(er) weather and, per the stereotype, pumpkin spice everything. I loved pumpkin spice before it was trendy, so I make no apologies for the warmth and goodness of a good pumpkin-y, nutmeg-y latte.
Anyway, I’ve always found that fall brings more changes than just crisp, cool air and falling, beautifully colored leaves; it always brings life changes — at least for me it does. As if on pattern or cue, fall delivers to me different, sometimes intimidating, but always good change. I seldom know what I or my family is facing, but I can usually rest-assured life will find its way of sorting itself out. Fall has been closely followed by the birth of my children and brought with it the marriage of me and my husband. It has been with me when I’ve faced new jobs and their challenges; it has even carried with it new friendships that I am blessed to still have today. This year, it has given us the loss of my job. As of last Wednesday, I am officially at SAHM status. Things came up and it was made plainly evident that I needed to be home. I. Am. TERRIFIED.
I have never not worked. I have held at least one job (sometimes two or three!) since I could legally work and drive. I had three jobs during my pregnancy with Gabe (talk about exhausting — working three jobs pregnant [two of which I stayed on my feet and even climbed ladders, etc.]), and stayed with my office job when I went back to school for my marketing degree (for which I still have not obtained). I have always liked to stay busy and am not averse to working my tail off. So this new stay-at-home-mom thing… it’s flooring me. I love my boys, but I’ve never felt like I’m “stay at home” material. I am gruff and grumpy… total momma bear. I’ve never, ever been super good with kids and it’s always seemed easier for me to go to work and let them go to school or daycare for our “space”. Admittedly, I hated only being with them from 5-7 every morning and 5-bedtime during our evenings and it really was vital at the time that both my husband and myself work; in today’s economy, it really does take two incomes unless you’re a Kardashian. Well, I don’t know about you, but my hidden talent ain’t balancing a cup on my behind, so there goes that idea.
Since I’ve been “home”, Connor and I have not been “home” for entire day… at all. It may sound silly, but I get the housework done quickly and we bolt. I’m too antsy to be hemmed in all day, so off we go. What have we gotten done? A little grocery shopping, a few errands here and there, and a lot of mall walking. I’m pathetic. I’m going to have to give it up eventually, I know. But Ev can tell you — I don’t even do good staying home on the weekends. I don’t have to spend a dime, but I absolutely do not want to be locked in a house all day.
But I have decided to make the best of it. Starting Monday, Connor and I are going to do things at home. He’s two, so potty training needs to take priority. I forgot how hard that is to do in town (been four years since I’ve had a two year old, y’all) and he’s showing signs of being ready. So I suppose we’re going to batten down the hatches and poop-proof the house until he gets the hang of it. Tonight, we’re making homemade pizza and painting pumpkins (Gabe wants to paint his like Luigi from Super Mario®) after homework makes its painstaking existence known. I have decided that just because I’m not used to being a SAHM, that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I will make the most of it even if it means I pull my hair out and look like Britney version 2007. Afterall, fall has always brought with it changes for me — and how often has this season given me bad luck? Fingers crossed for me, y’all. Can you add SAHM to a résumé? I already feel like a poorly informed, unpaid intern. Sigh.
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