Monday, March 22, 2010

Old and new and some news on the homefront

There are certain people that come into your life and you never know the impact they will have until much later on in life. I have been meaning to write about this for some time now, but everything happens for a reason and now is the perfect time to play catch-up. At the beginning of February, I was invited to a Valentine making party. I was so excited about this girls night and mostly because of one very special person that was going to be there.

Her name is Erin and I can honestly say, she has influenced my life in more ways than she will ever know. Erin and I met my freshman year in high school. She was the way cool sophomore in charge of teaching us fishies how to march in the marching band. Spending so much time together really does help to form great friendships. Over the next 3 years, Erin and I became good friends. I looked up to her, admired her and tried to emulate her in so many ways (Erin - I actually think I still have a shirt of yours from high school!). Erin is the reason I started going to youth group on Wednesday nights and the reason my family and I joined Bear Creek Baptist Church. I loved youth group so much that I talked my mom and dad into visiting and we eventually became members. I recently found notes Erin had written me in college giving me advice on how to make it through the rush process and wishing me well as I was about to pledge a sorority. So - after all this time (and thanks to facebook, blogging, and a wonderful mutual friend) -we re-connected. It was so much fun to get to visit with her and catch up on what was going on in her life (even though I read her blog!). We got to talking about the way the Lord puts people in your life and it is just incredible that at the moment when you need an old friend, He has a way of making that person show back up into your life. It happened at the perfect time for me. Erin and her husband have a son that is just a few months younger than Elle. When their son was born, Erin became a stay at home mom. She went through college and graduate school and spent a lot of time investing in her career. I truly admired her decision to stay at home (I admire any moms decision to stay at home!). It was one of the things i wanted to talk to her about just because I know how much time and energy her schooling and then work had taken...and I have been struggling with the decision to either continue to work or stay at home and take care of Elle. After seeing the peace in which Erin spoke of making the decision to stay at home, it helped to calm my nerves. I suppose in the back of my mind I have always felt that I have worked way too hard to get to where I am to just stop - to just walk away. I continued my education after college and have 3 little letters next to my name that mean a whole heck of a lot to me and truthfully, I just don't want to lose that distinction. But, I have made my decision and in the next week or so, I will be a full time stay at home mom. My daughter comes first and her therapy schedule and doctor schedule come first. I can't continue to balance both work and her....not in her case....not in our situation. I'm terrified of being a stay at home mom. I'm terrified of failing at being a domestic goddess! I'm not a great housekeeper and I have no idea at how to manage our home. But, as one of my co-workers said "manage your house the same way you managed the office and the employees." Oh man - this is going to be one roller coaster of an adventure. I dare say that being the Human Resource Manger to a company that is 90% male was actually an easier job than being a stay at home mom!

6 comments:

E.C. said...

Oh, girlfriend, I can so relate...giving up my two little letters was such a gut-check moment for me. Almost two years into it, I can say with confidence that it was the best decision I/we could have made...but man, oh man, I know how hard it is to 'take the step.' Congratulations to you on doing just that, and best wishes with the new J-O-B!!

Jess said...

you will continue to do a great job at being the mom/housecleaner/cook/wife/friend that you are. its an adjustment and some days you wonder why but in the end it is so worth it. Happy for you and your new adventure.

MZP said...

i remember when i was having one of my babies, i think it was henry, and my OB asked me if i was a stay at home mom. when i answered yes, she was like, "wow! that's a hard job!" and she is an OB! i thought it was neat that someone with all that education and training was impressed with my job. i'm proud of you lisha! now you have an even more important three little letters after your name M-O-M!!

annalee said...

i'm excited for your new profession:) welcome to the club. i'm so proud of you for the way you have been such a wonderful working mom this past year and i know i will be so proud of the way you are such a wonderful stay-at-home mom too!

Lindsey said...

I've said it before, and I'm happy to say it again- what a lucky, LUCKY little girl!! Now she's got you all to herself all day long! :) Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...

PS- Here's an article on a former boy-band musician's baby son, who also just was fitted for hearing aids. I thought you might enjoy this:
http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/03/26/joey-mcintyre-introduces-son-rhys-edward-and-opens-up-about-his-severe-hearing-loss/

Erin said...

oh my word, you are precious. i have gotten behind on blog-reading because i'm trying to study so much for the exam next week, and hadn't even read this until today! ahhh! good thing or i might have started crying when i saw you at the party today! thank you so much, you are such a dear. the feelings are totally mutual! love you girl - love your fam - especially elle belle! and the "pure elle" was the cutest...hope it was a wonderful rest of the day for y'all!