Honest thoughts from a WFH SAHM

Dear Readers, Hello! It's been a minute since you've heard from me. I'm glad to be back on here sharing my life with all of you. 2024 started off with a bang; quite literally. We had a large pine tree fall through our house on January 13th. No one was physically hurt (though the tree came very close to falling on Evie), but it will likely take us several years to psychologically recover. Our daughter Evie (who was 14 months old at the time) will never remember the incident, but we will never forget. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that events like that change your life forever.  

Now to today. Let's clarify these acronyms to help you gain perspective on what you're about to read: Work From Home Stay-At-Home Mom (WFH SAHM). I love to sneak away to cafés and write, but as you can imagine, "free" time is limited and precious when you are balancing the responsibilities of a paid job with the demands of everyday life with a growing and curious toddler.

To be honest, sometimes I'm still surprised that I am a SAHM. I never saw this for myself when I pictured the trajectory of my life. Stay-at-home parents to young children, especially, have the hardest, most selfless and rewarding job in the world. The first two are fairly obvious but I am fortunate to share many small, unremarkable moments with Evie during the week. Memories like pushing her on the swing or playing in the park downtown on a sunny Tuesday morning. I was determined that I could do both, caring for a toddler during the day and also marketing work. So much so that I brought my (then) infant daughter to a job interview. Evie is a happy and healthy toddler, growing and hitting new milestones every day. I'm proud of her and frankly I'm proud of ME. A takeaway here is that if you want something badly enough, put the work in and you'll get results. Do the hard thing that seemed impossible and out of reach.

Next month marks one year since I got my offer from the humane society. I tell people that I have the best job in the world. I help homeless animals get adopted and raise funds for the shelter so more can be saved. My career has always been a big part of my identity and meaningful part of my life. As my director says, the marketing work “fills a different cup” than being a mom. She’s absolutely right.

When I started It Takes a Village in April of 2023, my goal was simply to create a forum for expression that would help me and also connect with others. I was dealing with a lot of complex emotions and struggling with a new identity and needed a way to work through them. Writing is not only a hobby, but it is therapeutic. It still is. I just feel a lot healthier and comfortable in my own skin now. No longer do I feel like I'm losing myself.

I have come to really like this season of personal growth and motherhood. I said all along that I promised my readers nothing except honestly and authenticity in my stories. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone and that they could relate in their own way, with their own Evie's and their own situations to my anecdotes of early parenthood.

Thanks for reading this far and being a part of this wonderful, challenging and life changing journey.