Work

I am no longer a stay at home mom. Well I guess I am a part time stay at home mom. I have been working in our juice bar 3 days a week since we opened 3 weeks ago. Oliver is our youngest employee as he comes to work with me in the office. I haven't worked in 3 1/2 years and my goodness it's exhausting. Then again, after working 3 days in a row and then being at home with the kids, it's debatable which job is more exhausting. Just different I guess. The great thing is that my husband is at home with the girls on the days that I am at work and when he goes to work I stay home. It's a fabulous arrangement and exactly the reason for buying the juice bar.

Even though their daddy is at home when I leave for work, it's still hard to walk out the door. Yet at the same time, I enjoy using my mushy brain at work and the camaraderie of staff and customers - people who talk without whining and don't need me to wipe their bums - it's a nice change of pace for me. Still, I find myself wanting to be at home when I am at work. Maybe I can finally understand how Devinder must have felt going to work all day and coming home to hear wonderful stories of all the great adventures we'd had that day. It's so great to know that your children and partner were having a great time while you were at work, but heartbreaking that you weren't there to share in it all.

Buying this business was a great decision and I love walking through the doors and knowing that it's mine. It's so nice to not have a boss anymore. I am working yet I am mothering my son at the same time. I am pretty sure no one else would have hired me with a newborn attached to the breast. Some days, or rather some hours in each day are a little bit frustrating and not entirely fair to poor Oliver. Trying to get work done with a screaming baby is not always the easiest thing to do. Typing one handed while breastfeeding and talking on the phone is not preferred over typing and talking on the phone while your baby sleeps peacefully in the cuddly wrap. I find that I loose my train of thought constantly and I'm sure it is taking me 10 times as long to get work done than it would if I did not have a baby tied to me.

We knew when this business was offered to us that the closing date would fall right around Oliver's due date, yet still we proceeded, convinced that although the first year would be difficult for me, for our family, in the end owning the juice bar would be the best thing ever. I am still convinced.