6 months after retirement

      I was cleaning in our spare room yesterday and Addie started pulling books down from our bookshelf (as she always does if she's allowed into the bookshelf room). She happened to pull out all of the books I wrote for work and it made me think about my old job.
      After sorting out the books, I realized that September 1st is 6-month mark since I stopped working! I can't believe that time has passed by so quickly. I'm also very much realizing that I definitely got out at the best time possible. Between moving from Utah to the NW, the house buying process, and Addie's un-ending need to run, play, and get into things... working from home just would not have been possible. I would have needed to hire someone to take care of Addie so that I could continue working.
      Though it was stressful and not the most exciting job ever, I really loved working. I loved my job and it made me feel important and like I was really good at something. Also, I took great pride in my writing. No, they aren't great works of poetry or important novels that will be read for years to come. Actually, because they are about IT things, the books I wrote will be out of date in about 2 years, lol. They don't even have my name in the front cover because I wrote them for my old company and they own the rights. But that doesn't change the fact that I was the writer for all but 4 of the books in this picture, and I was a cowriter or editor the others.

      Luckily, I was part of job that produced something I could walk away from afterward and actually get something tangible to show for it. I'll probably never read them again, but I'll always keep my book collection! They are the results of three years worth of researching, writing, meeting with my boss and getting endless corrections, re-writing, and editing. Although the books are boring and about computer systems or IT concepts; they are important components to training suites (which include instructor videos, simulations, and written training manuals available both on DVD and a printed on-the-go book, as seen above) that IT professionals pay hundreds of dollars for. I was THRILLED to find out that our products can even be checked out from the Microsoft library for their employees to learn from and train to get certified in different areas of technology. So... Sam could go check out the books I wrote if he wanted to. How cool is that?! It makes me feel like I was part of something that actually really helped people to improve their lives and get better jobs, and will continue to do so even after I'm not working there anymore. Looking back, I realize how lucky I really was to get such a great job after college.
      Because I loved my job while I had it, I thought that I'd miss working a lot more than I actually do. I seriously couldn't be happier to be a stay at home mom, though. I love spending time with Addie and being there with her for all of her milestones and accomplishments. She does the cutest stinkin' things all day long and I would just hate to miss out on any of them! I had to check "homemaker" on an insurance info sheet at the doctor's office the other day, and for some reason it made me feel a bit lame... but then I remembered that this is my choice. I could pay someone else to take care of Addie and keep working. I've got to admit, having two incomes would be way cool! But it's not what would be best for my family. Not by a long shot. I'm glad I had my chance to shine and have an independent little career of my own, but now I get to spend all of my time taking care of Addie and pursuing my own endeavors on my own time. Honestly, I couldn't ask for more than that! Three cheers for being a mommy!