In hindsight, maternity leave was boot camp and bliss all wrapped up in one.” “The Milk Memos”
I haven’t blogged
since 2009. My best friend and I were blogging about weddings – the horrors,
the drama, the humor and the cost of being a bridesmaid..1, 3 or 7 times. We
hoped to get a book deal out of the gig, but apparently the wedding market is
too saturated with books, at least that is what the publishers told our agent.
Alas, we gave up. Partly because we ran out of topics, but mostly because
people stopped getting married and started having babies. I am now sitting in
the same office I blogged from in 2009 as the mother of an almost 3 month old
baby boy.
The first month of
maternity leave felt like I was studying for the Bar Exam all over again…except
there was no end test date. No after exam party to celebrate all my nights of 3
hour sleep, my crying fits and lack of confidence. However, one day that all
seemed to change. Of course, sometimes I still have disrupted sleep and some
crying fits, but now they are over leaving my baby to go back to work, not
because my hormones are attacking my husband’s every word.
I was really sad for
camp maternity to end. It reminded me of the last days of sleep away camp,
where my friends and I cried and reminisced, knowing we could never relive the
moments, we'd only have the memories.
It is my fourth day
back at work. I am sad because I won't be able to see my baby all day every day,
but part of me knows that is ok and possibly for the best. It is definitely the
best in terms of paying for college, but also maybe the best for my sanity and
his growth. I never envisioned myself as a stay at home mom. I am a terrible
cook, dislike cleaning and can only pretend to enjoy cheery music classes for so
long. But the other reason I am sad is because I made wonderful new friends.
My neighborhood in Brooklyn is like a summer camp for moms. We’d meet in the
park, on my roof, at yoga classes and discuss our babies, our good days, our bad
days and our questions and concerns. It was a much needed support system and I
can't thank them enough for their love and support.
I wish I could return
to camp next summer. At least I can hope for a camp reunion. Jill
Congrats to Jill for her conversational, humorous, sincere, and well-articulated blog entry. Maybe there is a book somewhere/someday --- Confessions of a Modern Woman: From Begrudging Bridesmaid to Working Mom or So Many Things that I Never Knew When I Dreamed of Growing Up.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of advice books, but there is still an audience for personal autobiographies that entertain while informing folks that there is hope and that they are normal. Ladies are a big part of the book market and men often wish to understand their women better if humor is involved and they (the men) are not being beaten up in the process.
The chief problem would be to find the time and energy to write this book, adapting segments of the Bridesline book into the autobiographical format, adding this essay and fleshing out the rest.
Jill has a great style. Even if this book idea of mine is never published, it would give her a place to vent.
....just sayin'
Loved it!
Barbara