i don't think my last post did justice to the amount of agonizing deliberation that happened leading up to my decision to quit my job. of course the main driving force was the desire to spend more time with the kids, but the more chad and i talked about it, we realized that there were numerous other reasons why this would be good for our family. these are the reasons that sealed the deal.
1. not passionate about work - it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to focus at work because i was distracted by everything i wanted to be doing at home. advancing my career suddenly wasn't a top priority anymore, which made it less enjoyable.
2. spend less money - although we're typically aggressive savers, we had gotten to a point where we were spending just because we could. we had a lot of discretionary income but it wasn't making us happy. the loss of my income will force us to actually budget, and we believe that's a good thing. we want to live more simply with less "stuff".
3. lifestyle that aligns with principles - i want to cook dinner for my family every night, i want to have a huge veggie garden, i want to compost, i want to cloth diaper, i want to read more books, i want to volunteer my time to a worthy cause, i want to walk my kids to school, i never want to miss a soccer game, more than anything i want to laugh more and worry less. these are things i would've had to compromise had i stayed on the career path i was on.
4. quality time with family & friends - when my parents immigrated to the U.S. they were young and poor, but they had a huge support network. i saw my aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends almost everyday. that is what i remember best about my childhood. today we are so busy with our own lives that we often neglect to maintain relationships outside of our nuclear family, and that is a huge disservice to the kids. with me staying home, i hope to be able to open our home to family and friends more frequently.
5. better for maggie & gabriel - i'm not judging parents who can't or choose not to stay home with their kids. but i know in my heart that these two little beings need me fully present in their daily lives.
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