Mar. 18, 2009 - Working Mom
When my husband and I got married, I was in my 3rd year of teaching and he was in his 4th year as an engineer for a local manufacturer. We weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we had plenty. We have said more than once since that time that we wish we would have put more money into savings for the future. Instead of saving, we ate out at least twice a week. I bought pretty much whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it.
My husband began to see signs of trouble in his company and when he was offered a position in a company on the other side of the state, he just couldn't let it pass by. We had just found out that we were expecting our first child and we had only been in our new house for 6 months. We put our house on the market, packed up, and moved. I did not have any doubts about finding a teaching position. Teachers could find work anywhere.
Well, I didn't find a position right away. When I was finally offered a position (sight unseen), it was at a public junior high school in a very tough part of town. When my husband inquired with his coworkers about this particular school, they all agreed that they would never have their wives working there. It was too dangerous. So, I began looking at private schools.
I was called in for an interview with the headmaster at a Christian private school. My tummy had grown quite a bit by that point and it was obvious that I was expecting. The headmaster asked what I planned to do when the baby was born. I told him that I intended to put the baby in daycare and continue on with my career. That didn't seem to sit well with the headmaster. Before I left his office, I knew where he stood on the topic of working mothers of young children. I don't think he ever had any intention of hiring me once he realized I was expecting.
Before our son was born, I did take a long-term substitute teaching position, and I was actually needed longer than I was able to stay. Times were tough with buying a higher priced home and having a baby to care for on one income. But, you know what? We did it. We never lacked anything we needed. We learned to cut some corners and live more frugally. We even used cloth diapers to save money. By the time I could have gone back to work, we had already realized that I didn't have to work. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my baby boy with someone else all day long.
That was over 16 years ago and I've been a stay-at-home mom ever since. It's the best career I could have ever had. If I had it to do over again, I would major in home economics instead of English. That would have been more practical; however, I do use my English teacher knowledge a lot in homeschooling.
I might get back to my career after my children leave home, but something tells me that I'll probably have other interests by then.
