Courtesy of 'My Silent Side,' Flickr
Do you ever get the sense that life is passing you by? That you get so busy during the days that the days turn into weeks, which turn into months and all of a sudden when you finally come up for air everyone is another year older?
I know you mamas out there can relate. When you’re used to being 100% put-together and then throw in a couple of kids, relentless responsibilities and a full-time job, personally, I feel like I’m never caught up with anything. These days I’m always a couple of days late making birthday phone calls, and forget about the birthday cards – those average about a month behind actual birthdays.
Sometimes on a Friday night I realize that my 2 year old daughter has a 10am birthday party to attend the next morning and no gift to take. Or like last Friday when I was talking to my father-in-law on the phone and realized that we missed his birthday that week. Or when I get to my 2 year old daughter’s daycare and realize that it’s ‘Show and Share’ day and we forgot to bring something from home for her to show and share (and then see her friends carrying their favorite toys and books into school for show and share).
The weekdays are all about getting home and getting ready for the next day…making dinner, giving the kids baths, doing laundry, cleaning bottles. Two words for ya – Survival Mode.
So, I quit my job.
I have come to the conclusion that life’s too short to constantly live in the fast lane. I found a part-time consulting gig that will give me the flexibility to work from home, spend more time with my kids during the week and work more on PureBebe.
And did I happen to mention that I will be working from home? 
After 4 1/2 years of shlepping to/from my current job, I’m both excited and nervous about what’s around the bend. Certainly I have some major multi-tasking in my future (like running a load of laundry while taking conference calls in my slippers), but I also know that I will have more time for baking cookies with my girls and lazy afternoons at the park.
Many of my friends say that I’ll get ‘sucked into’ the hectic working life again and that “part-time” will become “full-time.” But I beg to differ. My goals for the next year are to remember more birthdays on time (I never said I was perfect!), to help my kids pick out the coolest Show and Share toys ever, and to take each precious, slipper-wearing day one at a time.
-Heather
Me and my 2 year old having some summer fun
Have you ever thought about quitting your job? Or, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, what factors led to your decision to stay at home? We’d love to hear from you!!!
If you enjoy reading PureBebe, please tell your friends and click on “Sign me up!” under “Email Subscription” on the right rail of the screen. By subscribing to our emails, you are telling us that you dig our site and want to read more of our healthy baby news and topics!
Related Articles:
The (Im)possible Task of Juggling Work and Family
Release Your Inner Mom Guilt: Research Shows Working Doesn’t Harm Your Baby
Is Your Infant College-Ready?
10 Things To Do With Your Young Kids This Fall
You Might Also Like:
Heather,
Great little piece but no matter if you stay home and work or work outside of the home you will still forget stuff!:) ha!! At least I do!
Sorry..I hit send before I could also write CONGRATS!!:)
Thanks, Melody!
I’m hoping that since I’ll be working from home, I can actually check our personal calendar more often. At least that’s a step in the right direction!!!
Heather
I can totally relate to this! We missed pajama day one time and you would have thought I missed his graduation or something! =)
The only reason I can (in my heart) continue to choose a career is that I have lots of support and a great work situation! Both my husband and I have flexible hours at work and can work from home when needed. We drop the kids off at daycare late in the morning (10:00 am) and pick them up early. This allows us plenty of family and home time. If we couldn’t do this, I would work part-time too!
Congratulations on your decision! Enjoy every minute of your journey!
Congrats Heather!!!
I have been there many times… I was the Mom that was late for the Mother’s Day tea and all of the teachers told me that Matthew looked so sad because he was the only one without his mom there for the party!!! Talk about making me feel guilty like I was the loser mom of the year…
Just like Joni, I have lots of support from Brian and also my parents. I leave super early for work so that I can come home and spend time with Matthew before dinner. Family time is really important to me. There have been many times that I have wanted to quit my job to stay at home. Now I do have some flexibility that if I need to work from home on days I can.
Looking forward to hearing more from Purebebe and you…
Take care,
Lisa
Lisa,
Another person should never make you feel bad about your children and they should not have said it to you that way!! You are a great mom, moms already have enough guilt…I think my new comment to people who make rude comments to me regarding my children is going to be “no one’s perfect, even you!” He, He!
Anyway it is good to hear each others stories, mistakes, etc. so then we all realize that no one is 100% all the time…I know it makes me feel better to hear other moms stories…just today I put my daughters ruffled socks on my son because he had no clean socks and then took him to the grocery store and mall (but at least I bought him some more socks).
Lisa, I agree with Melody – can’t believe the teachers told you in a way that made you feel super guilty.
You are very fortunate to have the support and flexibility that you need to continue working full-time. 
Family time is the best and the time of day that I look forward to the most, too!
Every family situation is different. I do miss my kids alot while at work, but I decided before we had our first that I was going to be a working mommy. If I had any other job, that would probably no longer be true.
My friend works from home part-time, and is mostly on the phone or email. She doesn’t have to be anywhere and takes time with her two kiddos to do fun activities and play dates.
I’m toast usually by the time I get home, and yes, everyday is gone in a blink of an eye…
Midnitechef, there are definite benefits and drawbacks to any decision that we make, be it work full-time, part time or stay at home. In the end, we have to be comfortable with the decisions we make and know that what we’re doing is what works the best for our families.
With the schedule and responsibilities that I had at work (the past 6+ months), I always felt like I was in ‘fifth gear’ during the week. I know what you mean about feeling like toast – can sooo relate there! I’m glad that you have a job that gives you the flexibility you need to be a working mommy – that’s SO important!
Heather, oh this is always a mom’s “dilema” (I can’t spell tonight..too exhausted!). Recently a college friend told me that of all people they thought that by now I’d be the one to be the VP of some big company. Well, I’m not. And I’m really ok with that — most days. I work part-time and you can’t be the gig I have either. So for now, that works for our family. I gotta admit two thoughts: If I were working all day, someone else would be raising my kids (I know, major judgment here but check out the next thought….) AND I’m a firm believer that in what makes mom happy and healthy is ultimately what makes a happy and healthy kiddo. If mom is totally depressed but is at home all day — baby is depressed. If mom works all day and comes home and gives a lot of focused PRESENCE to baby — baby is happy. I never thought I’d be making these kinds of choices. I always that my career would be my focus. Well, then I had two little honeys. For now, this is what works and is healthiest for OUR fam. Thanks for the post! Lisa
You are very right, Lisa, happy mommy = happy baby! At the end of the day we all have to do what’s right for our families, be it work full-time, part-time or stay at home. I realized that I hadn’t been happy with our situation for a while and needed to make a major change. You’re absolutely right – kidlets change everything (for the better, of course)!
Hey Heather –
So happy and proud of you for making a decision like this. I know it’s not easy, but when something isn’t working for your family, you have to do something about it!
You will be amazing and add value whatever you are doing, whether it’s your part-time consulting job, this site or with your family.
I’ll miss your smiling face and upbeat attitude around here, though!
Ellen
Thank you so much for your sincere and thoughtful sentiments, Ellen. I have truly enjoyed working closely with you over the past 3+ years (you are a true gem) and it’s hard for me to imagine what it will be like to not work with you and so many other amazingly talented folks there. I will sorely miss you, but know that you and I will definitely stay in touch.
Heather
Congrats! I have to admit that I’m jealous. I’m moving in the other direction. My little girl is 7 months old and I’ve had the ideal job working part-time from home. I love, love, love it. However, my husband is miserable in his job (works a gazillion hours) and the only way for him to be happier is to find a new job. Long story short, I need to get a full-time gig so he can quit his. I’m really bummed because I love the balance of working p/t and being home with my baby. Perhaps in a year or two I’ll be able to go back to p/t. Guess we’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy every minute while it lasts!
Oh Laura, I absolutely feel for you! I know it’s so incredibly hard once you’ve worked a schedule that you’re happy with and don’t want to change. One of my best friends’s husbands lost his job earlier this year. She had been loving her P/T schedule for 5+ years. It was heart-wrenching for her to go back to F/T work, but she did it because it was what she needed to do to help her family. Her husband found a new job a few months later and once he got settled in there, she went back to P/T status. She is as happy as a clam today. Please hang in there and know that this difficult time and situation is temporary – it will pass (and in the whole scheme of things, will feel like a bump in the road). You’ll be back to the schedule you love in no time.
Heather, that is great! Congratulations.
I also work from home, and really enjoy the flexibility.
Thanks, Jean!
I quit my job the last few weeks of my twin pregnancy. The first few years with them felt very lonely and isolating as most of my girlfriends worked full time. It wasn’t until my kids started school and I picked up more work as a freelance writer that I felt “connected” to the world. It helped, too, when I met more moms in the same situation as me. Staying home is great but personally I also need a network of other women to communicate with. If a mom can find a part-time gig and still pay the bills, she can have the best of both worlds.
I am with you, Christina. Although I’ve never been a SAHM, I have a need to feel ‘connected’ to a group of people/network. I look forward to trying out the ‘best of both worlds’ gig.