Slipping off the Mommy Track

It's been a long time since my last post, the blog muse deserted me and there seemed to be nothing new to write about. Village life follows the same soothing yearly patterns, Christmas Craft shows, Spring Church dinners, Summer Fair, Fall Festivals. We all just flow along downstream from year to year.

But this year, suddenly things have changed. Not in the village, but in my life. After 20 years in the high tech industry, I was laid off. I'm probably in the minority, a lot of my colleagues have gone through this a number of times. But it was a first for me. Then, a couple of weeks later, to add injury to insult, as my husband said, I slipped and broke my wrist. Sometimes you have to be hit over the head before you get the message: slow down.

So, that's what I've been doing. Slowing down, being a stay at home mum. Baking bread, knitting, being there after school to make snacks and help with homework. And you know what? Some days it's enough, and other days I'd kill to get back into office clothes and go to work. Not the I have the option of staying home permanently, but I've realized that I wouldn't want to. This is also a bit of a revelation for my retirement planning. With two girls still in grade school, I won't be retiring any time soon, which I've discovered is just as well because I need the socialization and structure that being employed provides.

So, I'm looking for something new, but still struggling with the balance thing. I think every mother does.