Women who stayed home to raise kids and then returned to work, how did it go?

4 comments

1. Somewhat stressful. Being out of the loop and trying to catch up with it all. I’ve been back about 5 months now, still finding things here and there but mostly feeling like I’m back in my element

   Do I miss being a full time sahm? No. Working is so much easier than being a sahm . I still spend quality time with my kids, in fact, I probably spend more quality time (vs just time) now that I’m working again because the time spent is more precious because it’s more scarce.

2. I enjoyed it when I went back to work. It was nice to be around adults and bringing home some money. It was more stressful when my husband had to travel for work but I had a great village that helped when needed.

   When I had a second child almost 10 years later I stopped working and haven’t been back yet, she’s 5 and just started kindergarten so right now I’m just volunteering at her school. My husband has an odd schedule and when he’s working he’s 80 miles away and gone for 7-20 days at a time so while I’d love to go back to work I really don’t want the extra stress and I’m lucky that I don’t have to.

3. I was a stay at home mom for 6 years. I desperately wanted to go back to school to get a real career started but didn’t have the time or the money.

   I decided to take the course to get licensed to sell insurance. My mom paid for it. My dad moved in and helped with the kids. My dad was a piece of shit and endangered my children’s lives so I kicked him out, but I had secured a full time job and had found daycare.

   It was exhausting for the first year. And expensive. Trying to balance and coordinate so much and trying to rebalance household tasks. I couldn’t do it all myself, so it was really important my husband take on more work than he was used to. Everyone was exhausted. We all had to keep reminding ourselves that this was going to be worth it in the end.

   Now we’re in the swing of things. I’ve been working for 4 years. It feels good! So much easier than before. The kids are older so that helps.

4. I was a stay at home wife and mom for 14 years of my marriage. The marriage ended this last December. So I was forced to get a job just so I could survive. It’s hard finding somewhere that will take you when you have no job experience for that long. And no marketable skills. I got lucky with the summer job I got this year. Working at a small garden shop. I think my going in and applying helped. And my willingness to do the dirty jobs. It was seasonal tho. So I had to find a new one. It’s hard to get a job when you have one 5 month job to put on any application. Especially when it’s all done online now. The job I have now, it started as a temporary job doing dishes. The people I work with are so amazing, I was offered a job to stay there and learn how to become a chef. Because I am willing to learn, and willing to listen and do what I’m told. This has got to be the best job I’ve ever had in my life. And it’s the people that make it worthwhile. Life is still hard for me, but I do look forward to my days now.