I Quit My Job

So, I quit my job. Parker and I moved out to Lubbock while I was on maternity leave. I had a job lined up in a tiny town 40 minutes outside of Lubbock. I was really excited to go back to teaching, actually. I knew I would miss Porter, but also knew how much I loved to teach.

It was hard in the beginning, but I knew it would get easier to leave him. I fell in love with my students and really enjoyed my new co-workers. I missed my old campus at Carrollton a ton, but was adjusting to a new way of doing things. The only problem was that it never got easier to leave Porter, it only got harder. I found myself crying on the way to work every morning and often crying on my way home thinking about how little time I had with him each day. Saturdays were euphoric, because I had the whole day with him. Sunday nights were horrible as I anticipated another week leaving him.

We were and are lucky to have Heidi, an awesome friend that was/is his exclusive sitter. I definitely trusted her, but couldn't help feeling sad knowing that she spent more time with him than I did. It got to a point where I had to ask Heidi how he liked to be put down in bed. That was NOT ok with me! Parker and I prayed and fasted about the decision for me to leave work. Financially it definitely did not make sense, but we knew it was the right decision. Parker's program was more demanding than we thought it would be and the time he spent caring for Porter was taking a toll on his studies.

My district was so kind and gracious. They released me from my contract without any penalty and bent over backwards to find a replacement for me. I started applying for part time jobs and jobs that I could do from home and continued to pray that something would open up for me. I was selling some furniture on Craigslist and a woman came to buy a coffee table. It turned out she owned her own business and was looking for someone to help with admin/secretarial work. Long story short - I found a part time job that requires I leave Porter only 12 hours a week, rather than 50. I am able to work from home 8+ hours. My new boss is incredibly kind and accommodating. I also was offered a position with BYU-Idaho as online adjunct faculty. I will be teaching an English and Basic Writing course beginning in January.

I LOVE spending so much time at home with Porter. I never thought I would love house-keeping so much. I love taking care of my home, cleaning, cooking, and most of all - caring for my baby boy. I am also a much happier wife, which has been a great thing for Parker, too!

Parker and I are definitely making sacrifices for me to stay home, but they are all worth it. I realized my purpose in this life is to be a great mother and wife. This doesn't mean that someday I won't go back to work and (hopefully) become an administrator. It also doesn't mean that I don't have interests outside of my family and home. I just know that my first priority is my family and at this stage of our lives, I am needed at home more than 3 hours a day!

I think Porter is pretty happy about this, too!