This time last year I was apprehensive of being away from my passion for an entire year. I didn’t want to stop teaching. Teaching inspired me, motivated me, challenged me, excited me and brought out the best of me. It also fostered my creativity and shoved me completely out of my comfort zone. I loved the thrill of a zillion projects on the go and making lists and schedules and newsletters and mini-lessons. I also liked collaborating with teachers and modelling lessons and daily staffroom banter. I knew that I was going to miss it.
The other part of me was giddy to begin my new role as baby maman. I knew that I was going to have a year unlike any that I have had before. And I was right. It started off with a teensy little newborn in my arms and is ending with a baby zooming around the living room and talking up a storm. I couldn’t have imagined today back then. In those early wintery months, I spent days on end in pjs with Eli sleeping on my chest while I watch Saved By The Bell and the Golden Girls. He ate a lot (and we overcame some breastfeeding challenges together), napped infrequently (the bouncy chair was a saviour) and cried if he wasn’t near me.
I found a passion for cloth diapering, grew a collection of wraps/slings/carriers, found a deeper love and appreciation for my hubby, renewed self-esteem about my body (I was proud of my mama doughiness), met best friends through La Leche League and fell in love with sharing a bed with my entire family. We went on picnics, made scenes, went swimming, had playdates, took photos, rode the streetcar, traveled north and south, read lots of books and sang lots of songs, and most importantly formed a trusting relationship with each other.
Like teaching, mothering inspires me, motivates me, challenges me, excites me and brings out the best of me. It has fostered my creativity and shoved me completely out of my comfort zone.
But I think it is time for the next chapter. I feel similar feelings as I did a year ago. I will miss being home with my baby tremendously, but I am giddy to resume my role as Mme Wright. I might not put in as many hours planning for my class as I once did, and I’ll squeeze my extra-curriculars in during recesses instead of after school, but I will have a fresh new perspective in my profession. I think that is a good thing. xo.
“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” – Buddha (via a Being Erica episode)
