I mentioned the big changes going on for my family. Last Friday was my last day of full-time work, yet this week I’ve gone into the station twice, had a handful of meetings, scheduled some assignments and and accepted some new ones.

This not working thing isn’t working out so well.

I’m still strategizing a plan for which days I’ll go into the office. It’ll most likely be two, maybe three days a week. In my case, being a freelancer is not so much a random “we’ll call you when we need you” kind of thing, but an actual part-time schedule. It’s really a dream come true. Problem is, I have a really hard time saying no to each and every other opportunity that comes my way, and things are quickly turning into another full-time schedule.

On the mom front, I already have play dates scheduled, and I’ve literally mapped out every single nearby weekly story time and put them in my calendar. I also feel like I want to try to teach my daughter to read this year. Because, what better to do with all this time we have together?

On the days that I’m home, I try to exhaust her during the day, so at night, I can get some work done. Which usually consist of writing, setting up future stories, or video editing.

Getting my weekends back for the first time in years meant a date night for my husband and I on Saturday. We beat each other up then went out to dinner.

It also meant Sunday we went to church and I was asked about a thousand times if I was new. And had to explain a thousands times that no, I wasn’t, but that I’ve been working Sundays for the last five years and come on occasion when I’m not working, or sleeping after working all morning. Of course my husband didn’t have a thousand people come up to him though because he looks like every other dude at church. And because he’s good at staring at corners and avoiding eye contact so people don’t want to talk to him.

I had a break down on the way home, and he promised to shield me from some of the madness next week. But hopefully only 500 people who didn’t get to talk to me last week will ask me if I’m new next week, then the excitement over an unfamiliar brown face will die down and I can worship in peace like everyone else.

Friendliness overload aside, it was really really good to be back. And I’m excited to join my family there every week again.

So week one of sorta-stay at home mom-hood is going well. I’m waiting for things to slow down, but I’m not sure they ever will. All I can hope for is a quick adjustment to all the change, and that we’ll all be happier with my change of pace.

Tags: date night, family, sahm, working mom