Yesterday afternoon I took a deep breath and hit “send” on an email to my boss. I notified her that I wouldn’t be returning to my job as a small business advocate for a large defense company.
This was a hard decision to make, especially knowing how it will cause more stress for my boss at first. I took several months off for maternity leave, and was expecting to return in May. But as I entered the last month of my leave, I found myself dreading my return. I thought the long leave would be enough . . . but I really want to stay home with Maple for the first few years rather than send her to daycare. Also, there’s a lot of travel in my job, as well as the random evening or weekend work that can come up at any time. I could probably ask to travel less and refuse to do the after-hours work, but that wouldn’t be fair to the team. It’s what the job entails and they should have someone who is in it 100%.
It’s really strange to be leaving the company I’ve been with for the last 9 years, especially to be leaving a job I enjoyed so much. I think it will take a while for it to sink in.
Ryan and I are fortunate that we are able to make this choice, and it is one that he’s on board with. We’ll be living more frugally but that is absolutely worth it to me. I’m going to continue freelance writing, blogging, and running Janery part-time. I’ll keep you posted as things develop.
Have you ever quit your day job to be an at-home mom? If so, was it an easy or hard decision for you to make?
7 Comments
That’s really exciting! You might remember when I blogged about quitting my full-time government job to start teaching music part-time in preparation to become a stay-at-home-mom. It was the best decision I ever made! I truly love being home with my girls. When we did the math, it just made sense for me to be home instead of sending them to daycare. I’m still working very part-time but have a SUPER flexible schedule. =) You will treasure these precious days with Maple!
I remember when you did that! I’m loving every day with Maple – this is totally worth it.
What a change, eh? It took me EIGHT MONTHS to leave my job. I’m glad I did, because even though I’ll never get those years back, career-wise, I’ll never get back my kids’ years, either, and that’s more important to me.
Kimberly – Exactly what you said. If there’s one thing I learned last year with my mom’s illness and passing, it’s that time goes so quickly and you can never get it back. I’m happy taking this time and since I don’t have crazy aspirations to be in a corporate exec role by age 40 (or ever), I don’t mind the “career setback.”
Congratulations on choosing what’s most important to you! Did it come as a relief?
I’ve never had children, and at 53 the likelihood is very high that I never will. So I can’t answer for giving up a job to be a stay-at-home mum.
However, I can answer about giving up work to follow my heart, and what was best for me. (I went on disability pension). Even though I miss the money sometimes, I don’t miss the stress, the health issues that were exacerbated by working more than I could cope with. I’m hoping to find some part-time work that I can do that helps with the cash flow. And I’m finding that my overall happiness has increased. What I mean is not, Oh gee I’m happy all the time. What I mean is – Oh! I didn’t realise that what I thought was happy previously, really wasn’t – it was just making-do.
I suspect that it will be the same for you. I know you enjoyed your job, but being with Maple is your new happiness setting and it’s going to be awesome. 🙂
I left work to be home with my first daughter. It was a hard decision, but it was worth it – although I was ready for her to start going to half-day day care when she was one! I worked part-time and did some freelance editing as she got a bit older. With my second daughter, I had only three months before I had to start a PhD program. That was a lot harder. There are days when I think “What the heck am I doing? I should just stay home with these girls.” And then there are days when I think, “If I don’t follow this aspiration now, when will I?” I’ll be home with both girls over the summer, though, so we’ll see if that changes my mind about being a SAHM!
You get kudos for following the path you think is right for your family. And if later, you and your family need to do something else, that’s okay, too!
Wow! What a big decision and Maple is so lucky to have you at home. For me, staying at home on leave, particularly with our sleep wars, was much harder on my psyche than any day job I have had. I have a huge appreciation for moms who can do it and make it work. Happy for you!