Self-Made Mom

No matter where I go, people inevitably ask me what I do or if I work.  They ask me at the doctor’s office, in the grocery store, at fancy dinners and during playgroups.  I don’t fault people for wondering such things.  We, as humans are a curious bunch, and moms ever so much more.  Everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing.  If Sally works and loves it and Susie stays at home and is bored, Mona is glad that she is working.  There’s comfort and safety in numbers.

Now that I’m off-ramped, I’m not entirely comfortable with my non-working status. I don’t really have much safety in numbers. I love not working, but I hate answering the “what do you do?” question.  Telling everyone that I quit my job in January is going to start getting old soon.  And ever since the mommy blogging panel, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Traveling Mom said: write about your life and transition to not working. Your stories are funny and people will want to hear it.  A friend of mine echoed that when I saw her Friday night. She’s going back to work, and is dealing with those hosts of issues. No matter your status there’s always a conversation to be had.  Working vs. not working.  Leaving your job vs. getting a new one. No decision is easy and all of them are personal.

But it’s hard for me to be entirely honest about my status as SAHM or non working mom or whatever.  In my world, if I talk to Sally, I’m jealous, but I don’t mind the boredom that Susie complains about.  I never want to admit that I’m a full time mom.  My answer is, well, yeah, I stay at home but I’m doing “little things.”  Like I have to justify the argument that running to Target two times a week isn’t considered a “little thing.”

When I was chatting with the friend who’s going back to work about her change in status, we both agreed that while we love the $10.99 shoes and $12 frames, there is something inherently unfulfilling to us about filling our days with returning baby gifts.  And, in the last week, I’ve been asked to work on various new projects, some paid, some not. I think part of me is ready to move on from watching “The Hills” during naptime.  Like all humans, I’m curious to see what’s out there for me in my new, post-corporate life.

I think it’s the six-month itch of the off-ramped.  Month one and two of not working, and you feel free as a bird.  By month three you actually start paying attention to the world around you.  Month four, and you’ve actually started regularly checking your emails again. Month five and maybe you’ve actually done a small project.  Now I’m in month six and I think I might be ready for more.

I can’t wait to see what month seven might bring.