Today I graduate.
Today is my last day as a full time domestic engineer. With Preschool and part-time daycare around the corner, our trio will be seperated daily to allow for some new experiences, new adventures and a MUCH NEEDED BREAK FROM EACH OTHER!
Of course many more graduations are to come but I think this is perhaps the most important one for domestic engineers as not only are we seperated from the kids for the first time (on a regular basis) but also to find the woman who has been taken over by the stay at home mom...Here is a little re-cap...Shall we take a stroll on memory lane.
I have never been the mom who proudly expressed her role at home. Partly because I never really had a choice due to our financial situation and because I have always firmly believed every mom is a full-time mom; Whether working inside or outside the home every mom WORKS hard. Perhaps the only important difference is the isolation and constant interuptions a mom at home experiences every day.
Many have seemed puzzled by the isolation I expressed in the last 3+ years of being at home with the boys. Many have wondered how I did it. Many have praised me, encouraged me, reassured me and comforted me. Many have supported me.
First, I would like to Thank my husband. My husband who has always been there through thick and thin, day or night, A husband who never knows if he will walk into a fun, scary or sad house every day at 5 p.m. Some days he will walk into a house where his wife and boys are playing in the pool on a hot summer day, attempting to make a snowman in the snow or rolling in the neighboor's leaves (Yes...I actually go rake others leaves and dump them in our backyard so the boys can experience playing in leaves!) Sometimes he walks into a house where his wife is trying to cook supper while the boys are rampaging through the house like a safari stampede. Sometimes he will walk into a house where his wife is crying and his boys are watching our third son Goerge...So what if he is a monkey...This annoying little creature has kept me from insanity more times than I care to admit...
I would also like to Thank my mom. My mom who has tried her best to help us from countless visits from Canada, providing a roof when we hit financial rock bottom and never pretending it was all so easy.
A special Shout out to my twin mama circle who have listened over and over again to me (usually to the same tearfull or angry script over and over again)and have always been an e-mail or text away.
When I think back to the last 3+ years I am amazed at the level of support I received from strangers who became Family.
The Family Centre Team in Montpelier. Fran, Elyse, Carla, Sue and the nice kitchen lady who always made sure there was fresh coffee int he pot when I arrived for a playdate.
Fran. My Angel. A child educator for over 25 years who made it her mission that I would get to the Family Centre at least once a week. How? By picking me up. Between her duties at work she managed to put the 3 of us first for over a year. Always sqeezing us in so the boys could go play outside the home and I could get out of the home.
Elyse. A child educator who became a mommy coach for me. Reassuring me, educating me, comnforting me. Elyse adored the boys who adored her as much and I cannot imagine those times without her weekly play visit which sometimes became mommy therapy for me...
Today I graudate.
I graduate more mature, more patient and more confident than when I first started out 3+ years ago.
Today I graduate.
I graduate knowing in my heart I put more than my 100% for my boys and confident that if I can do THIS...I can do ANNYTHING!
Today I graduate.
I graduate from endless guilt, anxiety and uncertainity to feeling hopeful, excited and proud.
Today I graduate.
xoxo
