A whole year off?!

I remember the feeling I had when I walked down the hall at work on my last day before maternity leave.  Picture this: I’m waddling, very, very slowly, feeling such joy that I’m done!  Then, BAM … my sciatic nerve pinches, and I want to collapse to the ground and cry, but I carry on.  I’m getting out of here.  But now, I’m limping and waddling.  15 minutes later I’m out of the building (yes, it took that long to walk out of there) and I am not turning back, because I know that I have ONE FULL YEAR OFF!

 

Picture this, but add a large belly.  Oh, and I slow down the spinning.

Before you have your first baby, you actually do think that the year ahead of you is a year “off”.  I mean, you know it’ll be work and it’ll be hard, but you’re like “sweet 12 months off, b****es!”  Then, maternity leave begins.  You have this beautiful bundle of joy at home with you and you think, “I never want to go back to work”.  I swear I’ve said this to a lot of people.  A few months later, you start thinking “Wow, I just named the squirrel that comes to my window while I do the dishes.  I’m talking to Bernard the squirrel.  Holy moly, I need human social interaction”.  You can’t fully count on your hubby to fulfill this desire you have for social interaction, because he worked all day.  If I talk my husband’s ear off all night, as soon as he gets home, he’s just about killing me with his death stare that’s saying “Please, please, for the love of God, just stop talking”. 

I am however lucky enough to have found 3 mothers who are also on maternity leave and who feel the same way I do.  Our get-togethers keep me sane and informed on motherhood, and there is no judgment! 

And now, here we are writing to you about the ups and downs of this new life.  Our new life with a baby and our new life on maternity leave.  We are so incredibly lucky to have one year off with our little ones, but you can’t help but sometimes think: wouldn’t it be nice to go back to work and be around someone who responds to you when you speak?  Don’t get me wrong; I’m not ready for my little guy to discuss politics with me.  No ma’am!  But you really do start talking to yourself and looking like you belong in the loony bin after a while.  Enjoy our stories and findings about our quest for sanity and social interaction, and survival with our first little one, who we love oh so much! 

S