Perspective

I've been thinking a lot lately about how fortunate I am to be able to stay at home with my little ones, especially during this busy time of year. But I have to admit at the same time, I sooooo miss research, adult conversation, experiments, analyzing data, and the confidence I gained from my work. When Cole was born, I stayed home 6 months and then went back to research on a very flexible schedule. We then moved from Lexington, KY to Boston MA where I worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center for a 1.5 year post doc and my husband stayed home with Cole. Job opportunities presented themselves, and so we moved back to Lexington, KY. We decided it was time for another baby, and wham, we were blessed with two little ones growing inside me. I continued my post doc in Lexington, Cole started daycare at 2, and Jacob started flying again. I also started teaching at a community college. All was well, but my growing belly demanded I stop working early - November was my last official month of work. So, I've been part of the stay-at-home motherhood world since November of 2011. I must say, I love the time with my children, the ups and the downs. I love being able to do crafts, to keep my house in order (I have a little problem with being too clean and orderly :), and cooking. But I also have to admit, I always thought I would be "super" woman mom always having "perfect" quality time with my children. Boy has this time proved me wrong! I live for nap time, for the allotted tv time, and for bedtime. I also admit the more time I have with my little ones, sometimes, the less quality time I invest. Terrible I know and something to improve. But I have also learned on this new journey, "perfect" just isn't what it's cracked up to be. The twins and Cole are happy, my husband is happy, I am happy. We are healthy and have so much to be thankful for. Now it's just a matter of BEING thankful for the current circumstances, regardless of the mess, the colds, the tantrums, the not so perfect dinner, the crumbs on the floor, the later bedtime, the wake-ups. And then when we ARE thankful, the hugs, the kisses, the wrestling, dancing, dress-up, yummy meals, snuggling in the middle of the night, baby smells, family days, walks, and love are just ever so much more present.