Four years later
I can't remember the exact date, but it was sometime near the end of February 2004 that I last worked at a real (income-earning) job. My life has changed in so many ways over the last four years that I can hardly even remember what it was like to get up to an alarm every morning, get dressed "professionally" and be out of the house for 10 hours everyday, the bulk of which was spent sitting at a desk (or in traffic).
Four years ago, when I left my job to move to Switzerland with Kirk, I repeatedly had to answer the question: "But what will you do all day?" I still can't believe that anyone would find it hard to fill the days, especially when moving to a new country. I, for one, was happy (thrilled, actually) to be given a chance to leave the rat race of political Washington and start a new life as an expat. The days over the past four years have passed so quickly, and by leaving my old job I've had the chance to try lots of new "jobs", none of which have provided income, but all of which have been incredibly rewarding.
During my time in Basel, my most important job was being a Hausfrau. I spent my days as a wife who cooked and cleaned and managed the house. It may sounds a bit old-fashioned, but I loved it! Of course I had lots of time (and freedom) to do whatever I wanted to do with my days as well, and that was a luxury that I never took for granted, especially knowing I'll likely never have that freedom again. I also loved being a tour guide to any visitors who came our way, and I was always glad to be Kirk's travel companion. Not having a job gave me the freedom to accompany him on any of his business trips (which were numerous during our time in Basel).
There was one very unexpected job I took on over the past four years, and that was as caretaker and nurse. Just before moving to Switzlerland, my Mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not an easy time to be out of the country, as you can imagine. But again, the freedom of not having a job offered me an amazing opportunity. I spent the last three months of my Mom's life back in Wisconsin as her full-time caretaker and nurse-- an opportunity I truly feel blessed to have had.
Here I am, four years later, and I have finally discovered the most important job of all. I'm a stay-at-home Mom. I hadn't necessarily planned at being a SAHM (did you know there was an acronym for this job?). It just happened. I wasn't working when Baby was born, so I didn't even have to face the "to work or not to work" decision. After having this job for the past 20 months, I can tell you that it is the most rewarding, yet challenging, job I will ever have. It is also the most undervalued and underpaid job. There are no coffee breaks. There's no vacation time. There's no sick time. I'm on call 24-7. I can never just walk away from my desk to get a breath of fresh air.
But I love it!
Sometimes it's hard to be living on just one income. We are definitely making a financial sacrifice. We're by no means suffering, but in this wealth-abundant, competitive community of Washington, DC, I do have to work hard to remind myself to stay grounded. There is money all around me and so many people (many of my friends included) now live in "McMansions" (newly built homes that are so oversized and tall that they don't even fit onto the tiny lots in this city). I try not to let it get to me. This is a choice we've made and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's all about trade-offs, isn't it?
I never have to get up to an alarm (only a baby crying for "Mama"), and if Baby wants to lounge with me in her glider chair and read books for an hour before we start the day, we can do it. We don't ever have to rush out of the house in the morning to get to daycare. To some extent, we have complete freedom to do whatever we want with our days. I set up playdates, I take Baby to music class and tumbling class, we go to the library, we go for walks, whatever we want. And best of all, I get to be with our daughter ALL DAY LONG! I never miss a thing. I've been there for every milestone (so far). I'm probably the only one who understands Baby's language (most of the time) and I can read her moods better than anyone.
Don't get me wrong, it is tiring. When my days get long and when I have frustrating moments, I try to remember that there are so many parents out there who would give anything to be able to make a choice to stay home with their kids. I've got that opportunity.
No income, no breaks, no vacation time, but still the best job in the world!
Four years ago, when I left my job to move to Switzerland with Kirk, I repeatedly had to answer the question: "But what will you do all day?" I still can't believe that anyone would find it hard to fill the days, especially when moving to a new country. I, for one, was happy (thrilled, actually) to be given a chance to leave the rat race of political Washington and start a new life as an expat. The days over the past four years have passed so quickly, and by leaving my old job I've had the chance to try lots of new "jobs", none of which have provided income, but all of which have been incredibly rewarding.
During my time in Basel, my most important job was being a Hausfrau. I spent my days as a wife who cooked and cleaned and managed the house. It may sounds a bit old-fashioned, but I loved it! Of course I had lots of time (and freedom) to do whatever I wanted to do with my days as well, and that was a luxury that I never took for granted, especially knowing I'll likely never have that freedom again. I also loved being a tour guide to any visitors who came our way, and I was always glad to be Kirk's travel companion. Not having a job gave me the freedom to accompany him on any of his business trips (which were numerous during our time in Basel).
There was one very unexpected job I took on over the past four years, and that was as caretaker and nurse. Just before moving to Switzlerland, my Mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not an easy time to be out of the country, as you can imagine. But again, the freedom of not having a job offered me an amazing opportunity. I spent the last three months of my Mom's life back in Wisconsin as her full-time caretaker and nurse-- an opportunity I truly feel blessed to have had.
Here I am, four years later, and I have finally discovered the most important job of all. I'm a stay-at-home Mom. I hadn't necessarily planned at being a SAHM (did you know there was an acronym for this job?). It just happened. I wasn't working when Baby was born, so I didn't even have to face the "to work or not to work" decision. After having this job for the past 20 months, I can tell you that it is the most rewarding, yet challenging, job I will ever have. It is also the most undervalued and underpaid job. There are no coffee breaks. There's no vacation time. There's no sick time. I'm on call 24-7. I can never just walk away from my desk to get a breath of fresh air.
But I love it!
Sometimes it's hard to be living on just one income. We are definitely making a financial sacrifice. We're by no means suffering, but in this wealth-abundant, competitive community of Washington, DC, I do have to work hard to remind myself to stay grounded. There is money all around me and so many people (many of my friends included) now live in "McMansions" (newly built homes that are so oversized and tall that they don't even fit onto the tiny lots in this city). I try not to let it get to me. This is a choice we've made and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's all about trade-offs, isn't it?
I never have to get up to an alarm (only a baby crying for "Mama"), and if Baby wants to lounge with me in her glider chair and read books for an hour before we start the day, we can do it. We don't ever have to rush out of the house in the morning to get to daycare. To some extent, we have complete freedom to do whatever we want with our days. I set up playdates, I take Baby to music class and tumbling class, we go to the library, we go for walks, whatever we want. And best of all, I get to be with our daughter ALL DAY LONG! I never miss a thing. I've been there for every milestone (so far). I'm probably the only one who understands Baby's language (most of the time) and I can read her moods better than anyone.
Don't get me wrong, it is tiring. When my days get long and when I have frustrating moments, I try to remember that there are so many parents out there who would give anything to be able to make a choice to stay home with their kids. I've got that opportunity.
No income, no breaks, no vacation time, but still the best job in the world!
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