It was about a year ago that the wheels were set in motion that would take be back to full time, outside of the house employement. I had been working as support staff at the funeral home since the fall of 2016 and seemingly out of nowhere I was tapped for an office manager position.

I started training last May and that’s when the fun started. By July I was up to full time hours and trying to figure out how to balance working and being a mom and wife.

By October I was on my own in the office, the training wheels were off and that’s when I saw just how big of an adjustment this was going to be.

Bill travels…A LOT.

Juggling working all day, getting the kids fed and through homework and to and from karate can be a daunting task when he’s away. There are many nights as I crawl into bed that I think of my single mother friends, the ones who live life this way everyday. I often wonder how they do it? Where to the find the strength?

I’ve had to get a little better at managing my time. I’ve had to lean on Bill (when he’s home) and the boys a little more to keep the house running. Sometimes it doesn’t all get done and I’ve had to learn to let it go.

I’m really enjoying the extra income. I also enjoy having a reason to leave the house everyday. I’ve gone from jeans and a T-shirt everyday to a nice, business casual woredrobe.

Things that I’ve found difficult?

Grocery shopping! I hate shopping of any kind on the weekend. I miss the days of having the stores mostly to myself, no lines, no cart road rage.

I miss hanging with Bill and running his errands with him.

Giving up the freedom to pick up and go whenever has been one of the bigger adjustments. I need to work a certain number of hours a week and I need to request time off. No more spur of the moment trips for me.

All in all it’s been positive change for me and I look forward to many, many years here at my desk.

Are you a full time working mom? I want to hear from you! What is your best tip for keeping the work/life balance?

They say that life has it’s “seasons”, and the older I get the more I agree with this cliched way of thinking.

I have spend the past twelve years, more or less, as a stay at home mom. Sure, I’ve had part time jobs for most of that time but I spent much of my time home with the boys…And the housework.

Yesterday, on the eve of my thirty-eighth birthday, I accepted my first full time job since before Cameron was born.

I’m scared. Terrified even. I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime outside of the workforce, and I guess I have…Cameron’s lifetime. I feel like I’m giving up a piece of who I am…Mother of two and Bill’s wife. I’m a little nervous to be giving up the freedom I have working part time in a job where I have the ability to pick and choose when I work.

I’m excited! I can’t wait to start a new adventure and maybe find some of the confidence I had in myself before the boys came along.

What will I be doing you ask? I’m staying in the death care industry and moving on to be an office manager for the funeral home company that I’ve been working for for the past year and a half. I’ll be stepping away from parts of the job that I love, but I’m hopeful that in my new position I can find a way to continue to make a difference for the families we serve.

Full of all these mixed emotions about going back to work after so long, I know that this is the right thing to do for my family. I will be around less but when I am around we will be able to do more now that we will be a two income family. This is probably the best birthday gift I could give to us all, the chance to not only help our family financially but also figure out who I am besides wife and mother.

I’ve always had the utmost respect for full time working moms. I seriously don’t know how they do it, working all day then coming home to be full time mother and sometimes even a full time wife. I have a hard enough time keeping up with it all when I’m not spending a good portion of my waking hours outside the house. This should prove to be an exciting adventure for us all.

So on April 30th I greet the next “season” of my life.

Wish me luck…Oh and any advice you might have on being a working mom would be greatly appreciated.