I started work again today. Yep… maternity leave is over, all glorious 7 months. I know I am so lucky to have had all those weeks with my little boy, but I want 7 more! He gets more interesting and fun every day, and I am jealous of Lina (Zevry’s nanny), because she gets to do fun things with him while I am at work. I have had a taste of what Michael’s gone through the last 7 months, and I am not going back for seconds! Well, actually I am, but I don’t want to.
Don’t get me wrong, being a Mommy is hard work. In some ways it is a LOT harder than I thought, but that’s balanced by the incredible joy and satisfaction it brings. And if you think it is a pain to be awakened by your baby at 6am, try waking your baby at 6am and then having to carry him around while you halfheartedly throw on some mascara and drag a comb through your hair because he has separation anxiety and cries if you even think about putting him down. And yes, I know a little crying is ok, but I think Michael would disagree at 6am, when he is trying to sleep.
Its also a lot worse to have to get up and actually go somewhere, than to laze about in your pjs for an hour or two before you take a leisurely stroll up to baby rhyme time. Especially if that somewhere you have to go to is a grim and cheerless box. 2nd floor, desk number 14. Especially especially if once you get to that box, your task is to restructure the processing of checques, streamlining it from about 25 people to about 4. Now compare that to listening to Rooster Boy giggle with glee, or watching him try to figure out how to get 3 broccoli spears into his mouth when he only has 2 hands. No contest.
Now I know I am feeling a bit sorry for myself and that most parents do this every day, but I am just going to wallow in self pity for a day or two. Then I’ll get on with it, do my job well, and come home to enjoy my amazing little boy and my favorite person in the whole wide world (he knows who he is, and his name starts with M).