So, as it turns out, I love teaching. The schedule is absolutely insane, as I am teaching at two schools a half hour apart from each other. It really is a position I believe needs two people to fill, instead it is currently filled by one super human. haha :)

I am struggling, however, with finding a balance between work and homework and housework and being a mom and being a wife. Mr. Piper now gets the kids ready for school, makes breakfast, packs lunches, does my daughter's hair and everything. He is amazing. He also commutes a half hour to work, and there is simply not enough time in either of our days to maintain the housework. I am going to have to hire someone to come in a few times a month to help keep things up.

This brings me to my question. I miss my life as a stay at home mom terribly. I miss my routine with my kids, picking them up and dropping them off at school. I miss the cooking and even the cleaning. I miss seeing my mommy friends and my daily walks. Is this normal? I love my job, don't get me wrong. But I hate coming home to a house full of chores I don't have time or energy to stay on top of. Is this just a product of my brainwashed childhood belief that a woman belongs in the home? Or is it a normal part of transitioning to working? Will it get better?

being pushed and pulled in opposing directions, enjoying the highs but longing for impossible peaceful snatches of time and hard to achieve relaxed communication with loved ones.

This kind of life takes guts and energy.

It is normal to miss the old life. You can do something and that is to replicate your old life on your days off. This will only work if you can hire people to come in and clean.

You can semi-automate dinners with working-mom recipes that match your lifestyle, food preferences and personality, so that cuts down on the feeling of coming home to a pile of chores.

Hire a local teenager for laundry. You'd be amazed how just having someone doing that for you 3x a week makes all the difference. There is something so demoralizing about piles of clean and dirty laundry being pawed through...big psychological benefit for low $ investment.

Do you have papers to grade at night? Farm that out as well to a smart kid in the neighborhood, one that will alert you if a student is sliding.

You had so many doubts about this path and you've done so much for yourself in building your own confidence.

You go girl!

Anagrammy

Enjoy where you are at right now. I was a stay at home mom for seven years. Now I work two jobs and go to school full time; my husband works and much of the home duties fall to him now. I got used to it pretty quickly! :)

I kid you not, a couple months ago he told me that until he had the opportunity to be so involved in the children's lives, he never really appreciated me.

Best thing I ever did was let my husband take over the main role of parenting... :)

Seems completely normal. No one likes change.

But hey, imagine what your life would be like if you still had Morg callings and obligations to attend to. *shudder*

I keep telling myself that this first semester was the most difficult. Next semester my course load will be a bit lighter and after that both my kids will be in the same school, so that will help. I just wish sometimes that I could be everywhere and do everything, and it is a tough realization that I just can't. I loved being a sahm, and I love teaching. I wish I could do both.

First 3 years are hell. Then you get the routine down and (if you're smart and don't listen to those who want you take a vow devoting your LIFE to the kids) you can do all your work at school and not take anything home.

That means you DON'T reinvent the wheel every year. It doesn't mean you don't do some tweaking of some things every year. It also means you don't agree to be on every committee they request of you (the more you say yes, the more they'll ask) and you don't sign up for every teacher development opportunity that comes down the pike. Do some, but don't agree to do everything. Believe me, you'll realize that every new idea is on a 3-year cycle. Every 3 years some new idea is hot and you have to devote your teaching life to it then, as soon as you get it, they dump it for the new new idea.

I am a very good teacher. But I'm not teacher of the year--those awards go to the yes men.

Be practical and pragmatic and realize this is a career and a job and a livelihood, not a vocation (you're not a nun) and do your best and you'll enjoy your job and keep your sanity.

Good luck.

You'll do your best teaching your first five years...

Only advice I have is to keep "refreshing" your lesson plans as much as you can to avoid getting stale and burning out yourself. That was an error I made...

I'm glad that you're enjoying it, Piper! The first few years of teaching can be really exhilerating.

My hat goes off to teachers who are also moms. I don't think I could do it.

You are right. Get a pro cleaner in.

MS. Downsouth is a teacher (with a demanding class this year) and currently getting her masters. Everybody in the house is picking up the slack. She didn't go back to teaching until the kids could go to school.

One of the things you mentioned was your husband's commute and your commute between schools. Is moving an option? Cutting your husbands commute in half accounts for 2.5 extra hours at home each week and well over 100 hours for the year. I have neighbors that leave around 6 every morning and come home after 6 every evening. Insane! We enjoy country living and I commute 15 minutes one way and the wife goes 15 minutes in the opposite direction.

Congrats on being a teacher. My wife and I were discussing this very thing last night by a bonfire with beverages :) about how few real teachers there are anymore. There are teachers and there are people who have jobs as teachers and there is a big difference.

Congratulations. I haven't experienced the mother work/home dilemma, but here's something I found useful: make the lunches the night before. I fix both my lunch and my spouse's; I get everything together, right down to the little bag of potato chips and jello, and set it together in the frig. Next morning all I have to do is stick it in the lunch pail.