Working and Not Working.

I am teaching a short term class on Mondays and Wednesdays this month.   I am doing a basic English as Second Language advanced course in communication to college students. My students are all female and from Pusan National University studying child development and family studies.  They are ideal students - intelligent, perky, interested in learning, and adorable.  Because this class is short term, it was a good way for me to test the waters to see if I wanted to work more.

As it happens, I do not really enjoy working.  

The actual teaching part is fun and I do like that. But the wage I am earning + the enjoyment of teaching does not = a big enough gain to be away from the kids and deal with the extra stress that comes from working.

 I much prefer being with my kids and setting my schedule and not worrying about the children while I am gone and preparing to be gone while I am with my kids. 

I also don't enjoy that my husband rearranged his schedule at work to be home with the kids on Mondays so that we only do baby sitter once per week.  I LOVE having him home three days in a row, but ten hour work days feels too long as he has to compensate for the Monday off .  I really miss him at 2 PM. I'd normally see him at 3:15 PM, but now its 5:15 PM.  Those two hours are long! 

Again, I am feeling so surprised that I prefer to be an at home mom.  Its interesting to me that I have the opportunity to influence young women by sharing my feelings about how I am raising my kids.  Most of these girls will be preschool teachers and all have said they want to become mothers one day.  I think this class is a unique opportunity for me to connect with these women and share that they could be open to the idea of staying at home with their kids.  I certainly wish that someone had shared this option with me when I was their age so that I could have reframed my idea of what success is or happiness in life can mean.

And so darling daughter, I encourage you to be open to staying at home with your babies.
If you would rather not, please allow me to do so for you!