February 18, 2015- A Southern Girl Design

This is the first post in my series of 40 days of thankfulness for Lent.  As I mentioned before, these posts are in no certain order of importance- just what I am feeling that particular day.

Today I feel compelled to write about something I am very thankful for- my embroidery machine.  I know that seems silly that I would be thankful for a machine that is a hobby, but it really feels like more than that to me.  First, I really do love monogramming and creating things.  Personalized things are my favorite gifts to give others and I love it.  More importantly, I see my monogramming machine as a ticket to eventually stay home with my little ones.  Through Christmas I worked every night (sometimes until midnight) after working all day at school to get orders done.  I see each order, each dollar I make, as one step closer to staying home (hopefully soon).

To be clear, I don't want to stay home just because I don't feel like juggling work and home (which is a lot).  I don't want to stay home because I don't like my job - honestly, I enjoy my 5th graders and school.  I want to stay home with my children because I feel called to do so.  When I think back to all of the things I've wanted to be in life- doctor, lawyer, business owner, event planner, teacher- there has always been one constant. I have always wanted to be a mom.  I know I'm obviously a mom now, but I know these years are few and fleeting.  My oldest is already 4 years old.  What?  If it is at all possible, I want to make the most of these years.  To me, that means staying home with my littles.

So, to bring this back to the thing for which I am thankful- I love my monogramming machine.  Not just because I love to craft and it's super fun, which is true, but because each creation I make takes me a tiny bit closer to focusing on my loves.

Does the idea of being a stay at home mom actually scare me a bit? Well, yeah.
Do I think it will be hard? Heck yes!
Will there be days that I wish I could drop my kids off and speak to adults?  You bet!
Does it freak me out to be a one income family that has to make sacrifices? Probably most of all.

But do I feel compelled to do this thing?  Do I think it's the best thing I can do for my children and family? Absolutely!