Today is my first official day working for the new corporation! I’m now a full-time mom working for the most important corporation on earth: the family.
I'm feeling a whole mix of emotions - excited, nervous to begin this new season of life, and saddened with society’s view of the importance of motherhood. When asked about the decision to leave my office job, I have felt like I needed to justify why I would leave my career to raise our baby (and hopefully future babies). In my response to questions and comments about staying at home, I can't be defensive or prideful but I do need to be honest and unapologetic. I left my career to raise our baby and I'm definitely not ashamed of that!
Time for a Heart Check
Becoming a stay-at-home mom has been a heart check for me. When my husband first brought up the idea of me staying at home, I wasn't really interested. I had been at my job for a little over 3 years and I was comfortable. Leo prayed for my heart to change and, wow, did God do a number on me! I was really stressed out about being at home with Eli in the beginning of my maternity leave, but at the end of the three months, I didn't want to leave him and return to work.

Just because my heart has changed, that doesn't mean I haven't had my doubts. When word spread that I was going to be a full-time mom, there was a lot of push-back from other people. Don't get me wrong, there were others who supported our decision and that has meant SO much to Leo and I! Yeah, yeah, yeah... the opinions of others aren't supposed to matter... but I'm a "people pleaser" by nature, so it's been a struggle at times.
Every day, I'm reminding myself to focus on God and His Truth and it's helping me combat my people pleasing tendencies. Society doesn't think very highly of babies or motherhood, so the general population isn't going to be speaking words of affirmation any time soon!
Keeping an Eternal Perspective
I'm learning that it's all about perspective; taking care of my family is more eternally valuable than any other job on the face of this planet. On the tough days, when I question our decision for me to stay at home, I want to remember this; anyone can design and code HTML for a corporation, but there is only one person in this world who can be “mommy” to my son and that would be me. As of yesterday, I no longer have my unnecessarily lengthy email signature, no more paychecks to bring in, and my 401k won't be growing; all that good stuff that the world uses to determine how “valuable” I am as a woman. Staying at home will require sacrifices, but I guess you can't always have your cake and eat it, too!
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24
Having "stuff" is fun, but it has no eternal value. We are called to raise our children and train them according to God’s Word and their precious souls are SO eternally valuable! A few years ago, I would have laughed if you told me I would be a stay-at-home mom but my change of heart is a huge sign of God’s grace at work in my life. The way I'm thinking of it is, if I die tomorrow, I am confident that I spent my time wisely and invested in our child and family.
No regrets.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9
When has God asked you to step out of your comfort zone?
Suggested Read: Growing Home Blog: The Cost of Being A Stay-At-Home Mom
New Idea: Naptime Circuit Training
Also, something new I'm going to include in my posts is the weekly "Naptime Circuit Training" workout. My running is relatively consistent because I get up to run before the guys wake up or I take Eli with me in the jogger, but strength training doesn't happen as often as it should.
These workouts are quick but potentially challenging workouts that are easy to squeeze in during nap time :) Or, if your kids don't have a naptime, maybe they could try the workout with you! (maybe wishful thinking?)
Running Recap
M - Off. My cross-training was sharing tummy time with Eli and making a homemade fiesta chicken pizza!
T - 6 mile AM run with stride intervals.
W - Push-mowed the lawn and went out on a date with Leo for his birthday :)
H - 6 mile AM tempo run
F - 4 mile jogging stroller run with Eli.
S - 12 mile long run with the jogging stroller and Eli in 1:48, averaging 9:01/mile. Eli's farthest run yet!
Total Mileage: 28 miles