After a few weeks away from this blog, I have received a number of inquiries as to why I have not posted recently. The answer is complicated: (1) I have had little time; (2) Nothing exciting has happened; and (3) I have not had a need to post.
Let me start with the first item. When I started this blog, I thought I would have all of this extra time when the baby was napping, after he went to bed, etc. Well, the fact of the matter is that I have not had the free time I expected. My son is a light sleeper when he naps, and almost as soon as I set him down in his crib, he wakes up. Therefore, I end up holding him during his naps. So I have about three or four hours a day where he is napping, but it is extremely difficult to compose a blog post with a napping child on your lap. Thus, that time is not readily available.
My child generally goes to bed about 8:30, which is fairly late for a nine month old. So by the time he is in bed, we clean up, shower and relax, the night is mostly over. I have been doing a lot of reading (not much else I can do other than read or watch tv with a napping child on me), so I find myself using my free time in the evening to continue what I was reading during the day. As a result of this, I have little time or energy left to post on my blog.
Second, nothing exciting has happened lately. The baby has been extremely good, and him and I have had plenty of visits with family and friends and trips to the store. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends supporting me as a SAHD, and through the transition from work to full time SAHD. Numerous friends have invited me out to lunch, and all have been not only accepting of the fact that I have my child with me, but have played with him and treated him as part of the group. It has been amazing.
Finally, and most importantly, I started this blog as an outlet, as a way to keep me sane, and allow my creative juices to flow. When I first began the transition to full time SAHD, I would tell my wife that I had this strange feeling, a feeling of utter loneliness, but at the same time, I felt as though I was never alone. I guess that comes with the territory of having someone with you all the time, yet having someone with you that you cannot fully interact with. Yet, because of the support of my family and friends, the transition has been surprisingly smooth, and I have pushed beyond the feelings of loneliness.
A month has already passed since my last day at the law office, and the time has been flying. It has been a great transition, and I am really happy with my decision to leave the office. As mentioned above, I have been reading a lot more. I've also been jogging (or at least walking) several miles everyday with the baby in the running stroller. I have also been adding to my collection of NES games (the total now stands at 189 games, only about 600 more to go!).
But alas, all good things must come to an end. On Monday, I am returning to work. Ok, not really work, but at least I'll be getting paid for my time. I will be participating in a bird flu vaccine study at Saint Louis University. Except for the extended first visit, I should be able to bring the baby along for each of my follow up visits. I should be able to make about $600-$700 for a mere few hours of my time. And even better, they claim I cannot get bird flu from this study! Lucky me!
I do miss working (although not the legal field, per se), and one day plan to reenter the work force. When that time comes, I want to make sure my resume looks good, and that I can pointedly answer questions about how I spent my time as a SAHD. A good conversation about my vaccine escapades should entertain any future employer for awhile. Of course, conversations about good books I've read, my work on the parish council, my maintenance of a blog (hopefully), and successfully raising a toddler should be helpful as well.
With all that said, I hope to keep posting with some frequency. But then again, if things keep working out as well as they have, maybe I'll just look for a few more vaccine studies to get involved with instead.
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