I’m appreciating a specific lull right now.

I’m married and we’ve pro-created so the lull I’m enjoying is related to the questions people often pester you with about your next chapter in life. (I.e.: “When are you getting married”, “When are you going to have a baby!?”) Well I’ve recently turned the page to a pretty big chapter, so I get to enjoy this temporary pause in the pressure passing acquaintances feel the right to impose.

I’m also back at work as of last week. I left on maternity leave curious as to what it was going to be like to return. I did have an inkling, and it turns out my inkling was right…

People would always ask if I was going back to work after having Jackson, and I (fully knowing myself and that I couldn’t be at home everyday) would respond with a confident, “Yes.” Most of the time I would get told I’ll probably change my mind, or how that was their plan and it was impossible for them to go back.

I’ve learned that when it comes to having a baby, there’s no shortage of free advice that gets doled out. Nor is there a shortage on judgmental looks when you answer questions and your answers don’t line up with how people think you should do things.

This past summer Dayton and I listened to a book on tape by a famous person who was talking about having kids. She started going into all the things people say and try to pressure you into doing because it’s how they did it, but she had a great saying that both Dayton and I have brought out several times in this whole process… “That’s great for you, but it’s not for me.”

Going back to work is for me. I’m not writing this because I’m trying to push down the guilt, I’m writing it so you can be encouraged in the decisions you make that you know are a part of God’s will. It’s Him, you and your spouse that are calling the shots, not the people you pass once a week in the women’s bathroom.

If staying home is where you feel God wants you, then that’s great for you! If using cloth diapers or not sticking the paci in your mouth to clean it off is part of your policy, that sounds perfect for you. If dressing your baby in Gator colors all day everyday is what you feel is best, then that’s wonderful for you!

…but it’s not for me. (Go VOLS ;)