What a difference a year makes! (The summer edition)

I can’t help but reflect back to where I was a year ago. After the long, hard decision to quit my job and stay home, I had made it through July (my first month as a stay at home mom). And although I was getting into a groove, most of my contacts were not going to be around in the fall. Drew was starting a traditional preschool schedule with new kids, new parents, new teachers and it was all unfamiliar.

A year later it’s a whole new ball game. Drew has a network of friends, as do I. I am comfortable heading out to play dates with the kids or running errands (maybe comfortable isn’t the right word for it but I can do it!). I have the gym as my mommy getaway, which I underestimated the need for. Gabby is a full on kid with friends all her own. Our life, this world of not working, has evolved and I pretty much love it.

Last year this time I was so fed up with playing in our driveway. I was sick of our townhouse and ready to have a house all our own. We are now settled in a house that has everything that I wanted. We have a backyard for the kids to run wild, we are close to many parks and we have neighborhood kids to play with. What more could we ask for during the summer?!?

Last summer, as September approached, we had a new school year ahead. I felt very nervous about Drew making all new friends, potentially with kids that had been in school or camp together before. I felt like a stranger coming into meet the moms that potentially had a relationship from prior stay at home mom experiences. Now a year later, Drew has tons of friends and I love all the moms so much! It has sustained me at times when I was frustrated with the behavior of my children, helped make school gatherings more fun and even given me a social life outside of the kids or school scenarios. We are both so much better off for the relationships we have made through school.

So now as we turn the page to the 2012-2013 school year, we start activities we never have tried before, we have a new schedule, I have an excitement that a year ago resembled fear. I’m looking forward to what Drew’s last year in preschool will be like (hopefully he’ll stay out of the penitentiary). I can’t wait to see how Gabby adapts to her class load. And in a relatively short time I will be tested to see how I juggle it all with an extra child in tow.

This year has done us well. Staying at home with my crazy kids has done me well. I just pray that it continues to do so…