SAHM

Today would have been the day for me to return to work. It would have been the end to my 6 week maternity leave. Although Gabriel is more than 2 months old, my maternity leave really began the first duty day of the school year, not the day he was born. Instead of returning to work, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I'm being blessed with the opportunity to stay at home with my boys. It's a big job and I have been loving every minute of it so far. For anyone who thinks it is easy, it is not! I don't get off at 3:20, or 5 or 8....it's a 24/7 job. I'm not sure how long I will stay home but for now I am counting my blessings and enjoying every little detail of my days with my boys. It is nice to not have to worry about possibly missing one of Gabriel's firsts while I'm at work during his first year and it's nice to be able to drop off and pick up Santi from MDO every week. There's nothing more fulfilling than hearing about what a joy your son is in other peoples' lives. I get a compliment on Santiago every day from someone different and it makes me so proud. I could name a million reasons why I am thankful for being home with my boys but to sum it all up it's simply being able to experience everything with them everyday.

I always wanted to be a stay at home mom growing up but making the decision to actually give it a try was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. I worked hard to reach the other goals in my life - becoming a teacher, getting my masters and extra certifications to be a reading specialist and then finally getting a job as a reading specialist. I was excited to be moving to a wonderful new school that was closer to home for this school year. I loved my job working with kids and teachers and parents but ultimately I love my own children more so Hector and I decided to take the leap of faith for me to give up my job and stay home with our boys. I'm still a teacher - I just have a much smaller class. One day I will probably go back but for now my dreams are coming true being home with my children.

Tonight as I was getting Santiago ready for bed he randomly said: "Mommy, I love youuuu! I had a fun day with you!"

THAT is exactly what makes staying home totally worthwhile. This is going to be the best job in the whole wide world. It already is!