Roll With the Punches

Today was my first official day back to work. Yesterday was actually supposed to be my first day back . . . and then I got the stomach flu from my kids. Nothing like calling in on your first day back. So, today I went back. I became a working mom again. Back to reality.

I've spent the last month of my 6 month maternity leave preparing to go back to work. I wanted it to be as smooth of a transition as possible, for both the kids and myself. I knew it would be chaotic, but I figured if I was prepared, it would be less chaotic. So, last night I did my last minute preparations. I had my coffee in the coffee pot ready to go, diaper bag packed up and in the car, kids' clothes laid out, lunches packed, and dinner in the crockpot ready to be plugged in the next morning. "I can do this!" I thought. Sure, it took over a half-hour to get everything ready, but I knew it would pay off in the morning when I was trying to get everyone up and ready.

I was all set to get a good nights' sleep and had just settled into bed when I heard the cries of a very unhappy baby through the monitor. "Great," I thought. So I went upstairs, rocked Izzy back to sleep, and got back in bed to get some sleep. 10 minutes later, I hear it again. Would I be a bad mom if I just turned off the monitor and pretended not to hear her? The thought crossed my mind for a split second.

3 hours of off-and-on crying later (2 am at this point), I did something I swore I'd never do. (And have never done in 6 years of being a mom until now.) I put Izzy in bed with me. Yes, I do realize she could have gotten SIDS, so please spare me the guilt. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "5:45 will be here way too soon," I thought as I drifted off to sleep with Izzy FINALLY sleeping soundly next to me. It was. As I awoke to check the clock, the way everyone does when they wake in the night to see how much time they have left to sleep, I jumped out of bed. 6:48!!!! How did that happen? I had overslept by over an hour and needed to be leaving the house by 7:30. CRAP!!! Long story short, Bryan forgot to reset the alarm for my early rise time, and with his help (and my preparations the night before), we somehow managed to get out the door on time.

So, my return to work was not without chaos and did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. It was just the opposite. It was the worst possible scenario of a chaotic morning that I could have imagined. The thing is, no matter how much you prepare for something, things never go as planned, especially when you have kids. Life doesn't throw curve balls. The curve balls ARE life. Whether it's the stomach flu, a crying baby, or an alarm clock mishap - these things happen to all of us. The best you can do is roll with the punches and remind yourself that even in the most chaotic and stressful moments, you are where God intends for you to be.

And if God intends for you to oversleep, then tell that to your boss when you're late for work.