I Finished Chapter One

Before I started writing this post, I read through all of my previous posts to see if I had mentioned that I am in the process of writing a book. Well, I hadn't. Then I realized that I have never blogged about the decision to "take a year off" from the world either. So here goes.

My decision to embark on a cross-country road trip this summer was the result of several things. I wanted to travel with the kids..affordably...and have the opportunity to work on my consulting business, this blog, and begin writing a book about an interesting irony I recently discovered.

Until this past May, I had a full-time (40 hr/ week) job outside of the home and I was the primary caregiver for my children. Their dad and I separated last December, and since then, his involvement with the kids has been less than desirable. This spring it seemed like all at once my world crashed. My boss was as understanding as she could be (which was very limited and NOT nearly what I needed her to be), I felt more pressure from the kids' schools to be even more of a supermom (as a way of compensating for the separation/divorce...yes they can make you feel really guilty), and for the first time in my life, my parenting was questioned by entities who should have been concerned about their own operations. (I know the last part was vague...that's a blog post for another day.)

One more thing...my birthday was in May...and ever since I turned 30 six years ago, I have been making some huge life decisions around that time. And this year was no different. In May, I decided that I needed a year off. I needed to work less in order to spend time with my kids more. I need to drop them off at school on time, I need to pick them up when the school day ends (not when afterschool care ends), and I needed to have our evening routine with homework, reading, math facts, dinner, and bedtime operate more smoothly than it did last year.

I needed to quit my job.

The irony of all of this is that as I realized that I desperately needed to be home more for the kids, I wasn't sure if I could afford it financially. It can be a challenge for dual-income families when one spouse stops working, but what does it mean for a single-parent family when the single parent stops working full-time? I didn't know, but I would soon find out, and live to write about it.

Enter the road trip to Chicago. Enter the time spent with my parents. Enter the creation of my consulting business. And enter the writing of the first chapter. My goal this summer is to write two chapters and pen the rest as the year progresses. My book is about the irony of it all, how it was the write thing for us, and how it ends.

Here's to the celebration of Chapter One! Wahooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!