Not "just a mom"?

            It all started back around Labor Day.   First, in the bulletin from Church there was something about how our work is sacred.  It said that that we, as Catholics, believe our work is how we serve our Lord and how we find purpose in our days.  The time we spend at work is valuable and meaningful and our work allows us opportunities to use the gifts God blesses us with.  After reading that bulletin, it seemed the message was everywhere—in conversations with friends, in songs on the radio, in homilies even weeks later.  

            Now I know the work I do within my home counts.  I know that caring for my children and keeping up with the housework and supporting Tim is sacred work.  I know, without a doubt, it is important and meaningful.  But all that talk about work might have been more than just a reminder that what I do for my family matters.  

            I don’t know if God was sending me a message or if He was preparing me for what He knew was coming........ because I find myself, after 14 years at home with my children, re-entering the working world- just a little.  

After all those messages of work being sacred, Tim and I talked and talked and talked about me going back to work.  It had been so long since I worked outside of the home and, really, until recently I had not even thought about it.  I have always been quite content raising my children, caring for my home, being “just a mom”.  But as we talked, Tim and I decided together that maybe it was time for me to take on a part-time job.  Nothing too strenuous, nothing that would take me away for long periods of time, nothing that would interfere with home schooling or with our family time but something that might bring in a little money and allow me the chance to take on a little more work.  

I had mixed emotions as I contemplated the idea of being employed once again.  I felt worried, guilty, excited, and nervous all at once.  I have never felt any desire to be a career woman.  I have never felt I needed a job outside the home to validate me.  I have never wanted anything to come before my family.  Yet, here I was deciding to go back to work while my kids are still at home and need me.  And, strangely enough, I felt it was the right thing to do- what God was calling me to and though I was nervous, I really was also excited about it.  

I found a job quite easily.  I began last week and am happy to report that it really is the perfect fit for what I was looking for.  I work only in the evenings and on weekends, when Tim is home with the children.  My hours are minimal—just a few shifts here and there, not more than 10-15 hours a week.   The job will not interfere with home schooling.  It will not take me away much and it is only a few minutes from home.  Tim and the kids are supportive and at peace with the situation.  The work is enjoyable and gives me a chance to work with and meet new people.  

So, though it still sounds strange to me- I guess I am a working mother now.  But really, I still feel like “just a mom”.