Treasuring the Present: My Ship

Technically my maternity leave ended a few weeks ago, and so I have been doing office work from home; however, my uninterrupted time at home ends this week.  Next week my parents will be here to run the ship while I finish up my time seeing students this Spring.

Recently I realized that I've hit a milestone of this life with three little ones -- a few months ago, I (theoretically) would have leapt at the chance to hand my three handfuls over to my parents and return to the job I do well, teaching students who are visually impaired.  Now, as I think about their coming and literally taking over while I am out of the house for hours at a time I can honestly say, I would rather they teach my students and I stay home with my children.

It has taken me nearly 16 weeks... and 10 of those by myself, but I really do have a routine here at home.  And yes, our laundry and dishes and vacuuming are a constant battle... or joke, however you choose to see it, and an extra pair of adult hands would be great... but Tracey, Howard, and Caroline and I have a really good system during the day when Daddy's at work.

We play, we learn, we eat, we sing, we dance, we read, we get excited for Daddy to come home, we go to preschool, we go to dance class, we sometimes see friends, we have good days and some harder days but we have a really good system -- FINALLY... just in time for me to change everything by heading off to work and handing the reigns over to my parents for a few weeks.

So... today I am treasuring that I am home with my three wonderful handfuls for the rest of this week, just the four of us.

I am treasuring that I really have created a system and routine and that no one on this planet knows my children better than I do.

And yes, I am treasuring that I have a job to return to... and even better, a job with the flexibility that I have could have such an extended maternity leave.

I am treasuring that, of all people, I will be leaving my children with the very best second-choice option (first choice being myself) -- my parents, their grandparents who love them to bits.

I am treasuring that our home really has become my ship... I run the show -- for better or worse or messy or tired, its my ship.