It’s been such a great month, this past December.

I turned 34 years old.

Chris and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.

We had Christmas in our own home for the first time.  Such fun!

It’s been a busy month, too.

I’ve been back to work now for a little over 5 weeks, and I’m loving my new job.  I have good co-workers, a supportive employer, and a great supervisor.  I’m loving the freedom that comes with working from home.  While my job is not entirely home-based (I do have medical practice visits that I’ll begin making here soon), it still gives me the freedom of a Monday – Friday job that I didn’t enjoy as a staff nurse.

My returning to work has brought about changes, naturally.  The boys are both in daycare.  We bought a second car.  I don’t have as much time to devote to from-scratch cooking as I did before and my involvement with MOPS has changed.  I’m still the volunteer registration coordinator, but I’ll be transitioning to an evening group next month, one geared toward working moms.

I’ve also withdrawn from Bible Study Fellowship.  Returning to work was one reason, yes, but I quickly realized that, even without working again, doing BSF combined with MOPS, volunteering at hospice, and the other responsibilities on my plate was adding up to too much.  I felt harried, Chris felt overlooked, and the boys were busy-busy-busy what with MOPPETS, the BSF program, and Joe’s preschool.

I’m glad that I’ve gone back to work.  I was worried that I’d feel like I was compromising my children’s quality of life, but that hasn’t been the case (aside from one trip to Target when I saw a mom pushing her 2-seater cart with little ones… I missed my guys at that moment!).  Instead, I feel happier and, overall, am confident that this was the right choice, both for me and for my family.  The boys love daycare and are always excited to go there.  I feel like I’m contributing in a meaningful way (not that being a stay-at-home-mom isn’t meaningful – something that my husband reminded me of nearly daily – but there’s something about being paid for my efforts that boosts my self-confidence).  Our family routine has shifted around and it’s working well.  Granted, it’s only been 5 weeks, but I think that things are OK and that we’ll be able to weather this change.

I’m also excited at new possibilities.  I’m looking forward to being able to apply for my certification in my new field of nursing (something that I should be able to do after 12 months).  I’m also thinking about master’s degree programs again, something that I thought I’d have to give up on.  My new employer will reimburse part of my tuition, and with the variety of good, quality online MSN programs that have traditional brick-and-mortar locations nearby to where we live (where I could go in for classes or practicums, if needed) I feel as though it’s more feasible than if I were doing shift-work at a hospital.

All in all, I’m excited about the new year and the opportunities that it will bring 🙂