I'm a SAHM .. think I might want to go back to work .. talk to me

[Twiglett]

I've loved being a SAHM .. gave up work in 2002 .. DS now 5, DD is 2 .. always swore I'd be SAH till at least youngest was through reception (2010 ...eeek)

today I'm thinking I should go back to work ... its the ennui, or lack of patience that sometimes takes hold .. maybe I'd be a better mummy if I wasn't with them all the time

we don't especially need the money .. though it would be nice of course

its against everythign I've ever wanted since I first gave up .. but maybe I pine for pure adult company, business objectives and a life away from the home / school / coffee with local friends?

sometime life just seems to have shrunk to the size of a pea

I think you are idealising the world of work.....

Was working part time (24 hours a week) until 5 months ago - at end of December I became a SAHM.

I don't miss ushering the children out of the house at some ungodly hour whilst it is still dark in the morning (not a factor this time of year, but was like that from October to March inclusive every year),and when they are barely awake, to drive 40 minutes to work...

And whilst SAHM-dom can be deathly dull - by crikey, so can paid employment! I realise that you had a stimulating and successful career before you gave up work - but that is no guarantee that you can achieve the same with a part time commitment. My job was absorbing and stimulating pre-children, but when I had my first and went part time I was give the arse end of the tasks to do and marginalised. IME it is the exception rather than the rule to be given / get rewarding part time work.

Reckon you just need to arrange a little bit of childcare for your dd (maybe just a half day per week) so that you can have some proper time and space...(ds is at school isn't he?)

I say babies don't keep. You will get your life back but not your baby's life, IYSWIM.

it was ennui not boredom btw

anyhoo .. I think the thought of volunteering for a day somewhere might be a good idea .. so long as it fits in with school day?

Bramblina if you are bored witless as a SAHM then it may be best for you to try a little outside stimulation so that you can dealk with your baby more refreshed. It's totally different if you are hapy and fullfilled doing what you do but if you are not then you owe it to yourself and your kids to try something else.

I do agree that the place of work can be crashingly dull as well so volunteering could well be a steo in the right direction.

Twiglett, I'm in much the same position - had decided to wait until youngest was at school, but that's still 18 months away. I've just about finished my first year of OU, with the plan being to graduate 3 years from now and get a "proper" job . In the meantime, I've registered with some temp agencies, with a view to doing a day here and there. That way, I think I can have some adult company etc etc but not be tied to the same days each week. And you don't have to do any work at all if you change your mind!

I just got a job tonight!
Been at home since 2003, but from next week I am working behind the bar at a local hotel one or two nights a week.
Money will be nice, but really I just want to escape the house and talk to adults outside of kid oriented situations.

And I still get to stay at home all day with them instead of carting them off to nursery for someone else to enjoy!

I've worked two days a week since ds was about 10 months old (now nearly 2). He loves it and spends two happy days with his granny. I can honestly say I find work boring, as well as at times being pretty stressful with deadlines etc. Also the people there generally annoy me and all they talk about is drinking and clubbing! Wow glad I got that off my chest Realisation has just hit me as well that this time next year ds will spend half his day in nursery/preschool and that I might be missing out. Know its only 2 days which prob sounds very lame to some full time working Mums, but thats my current thoughts. Sooo I'd say give 'proper' job a go but it might not be all its cracked up to be. Voluntary work sounds good though!

Drosophila, I'm not bored witless? Did I give the impression I am?! What I mean by getting your life back is, there will always be another job for you to go back to, or more coffee to drink with friends, but you'll never get those first 3 yrs of your baby back, they go to nursery so young. I just say make the most of it.
Maybe you menat someone else.