SAHMs when ( and if) do you plan to return to work

[cchavez]

I have been thinking about this alot lately.....Our plan is that I will stay at home w/ Diego (and hopefully #2) until they start kindergarten. But I really would love to be at home when they arrive from school but I do think that I want to go back to my career... I am a speech language pathologist and I really enjoy this profession. So if we can swing it, I hope to only go back part time for awhile. But DH says we will really need the extra income when they get older so that we can pay for their college. What about you guys....what is your plan?

[mik8]

I work in the medical field and it was a tough choice to decide between being a full-time and part-time mom. I really enjoy being with patients - love interacting at the bedside. There are so many tiers/hours for part-timers that you have the ability to still control your time and be able to stay with your kids. The "primordial" factor that made me decide to work part-time (on call) is the high pace technology in the field of health care nowadays. I don't know in your field but in mine and as well as in any other health care profession, I know that I will become a liability if I stopped working because I would get behind with the ever-changing technology/skills. I want to keep my skills, be able to have some control of my time and be a mom (part-time benefits), and have some extra money for baby's extra expense. HTH. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it's for the best. Best of luck!

[mamahill]

I *am* at work. LOL, I'm not trying to sound snooty or flippant, but this is what I was born to do. All through college my friends were becoming passionate about the law, medecine, music, etc. I followed one of my friend's leads and threw myself into writing, but I always felt like I was missing something. When I was working and I'd have those assessment interviews where they would ask, 'Where do you see yourself in 5 years?' I never knew how to answer. What you want to hear? Managing a group of writers/designers...blah blah blah. The truth? Staying home, having babies and taking care of them. The day I had Ainsleigh was like the first day of the rest of my career. I finally feel the passion about my daily job that those friends in college were feeling.

Once Ainsleigh (and others?) are in school, I'll volunteer there. My mom still (voluntarily) teaches music at the elementary school after doing it for 15 years.

Go with your heart. Some women are driven crazy and lose their "self" once the kids go to school and they are left with an empty house. For others, me included, this IS what I've always wanted.

[bluej]

I won't work until DH retires from the AF. We move too often and me being home really is the only stable thing we can offer our kids (other than our love and commitment of course). It's been ten years since I graduated from college. I've never used my degrees (audiology and speech pathology) and quite honestly, even if I were current w/ either of them, I'm really no longer interested in either field. So I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be 'when I grow up'.

[ddmarsh]

It's really hard to see how things are once kids get into school when they are so little and I think often the focus is on when they no longer need us physically. I can tell you from my perspective though that in some ways you are needed more, in very different ways, once they are in school. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to deal with dinner, homework and activities while working at the same time. Having someone that can take care of a baby/toddler at home or in another setting is one thing; having someone who can do homework and who you could trust to drive them around is quite another.

[bluej]

I pretty much feel the same way you do. I will never have a career outside of the home, but I do hope to have some sort of paying job outside of the home someday. Nothing stressful mind you. My real goal in life is to go from being a mommy to being a grandma. Don't know how that plays into my kids' plans though :)

[houseof3boys]

Well put my dear Sarah!!! I don't think I could say it better than she did so DITTO.

I miss making money and that's about it with my "old" life. I am fortunate that my new job has success written all over it with getting to see all of Ryan's smiles and tears day in and day out. :)

[Calmegja2]

It's boring to ditto, but Sarah said it so well, I will ditto her.

When my youngest enters all day school, I would like to work on my master's degree, but as far as plans for a definite entry into the workforce, with four children, life is only going to get busier around here (my friends tell me that older children require even more time), and my choice will be to be a SAHM, or at least a drives around all day getting things done mom. ;-)

I plan on returning to my volunteer work (I do some now, but not on the level I did before kids), but with our lifestyle, DH's work schedule, and our voluminous amount of kids....I can't imagine a time in the near future where I would be able to commit to a full time, or even part time paid position.

[slknight]

I don't want to start an argument, because I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it and it's just a way of phrasing it. But it's something that really irks me. I work part-time and do NOT consider myself a "part-time mom." I am a full-time mom, just like DH is a full-time dad, even though he goes to work.

Susan and Alex (04.18.03)

[Calmegja2]

Susan, who are you addressing?