Meet Jenn: Living in Both Worlds

One huge blessing from my blogging is the mom friends I’ve made.

When I was too tired or nervous or frazzled to go out with a new baby and socialize in real life, I met and chatted with all sorts of moms online, reading their blogs, getting tips and encouragement.

As I started blogging, I “met” many blog readers that I STILL connect with even now (although our lives have gotten more complicated two and three kids later!).

Jenn and I met via blogging way back in 2010. Her way with words and with her children…well, she’s so sweet, you just want to reach through the Internet, pinch her to see if she’s real and then give her a big hug! I’m not sure I can ever explain to her what a blessing she has been to me as a mom. ‘

She details her very charming life all so lovingly on her blog T Rex Mom and Dad Tales! You simply have to read about her crocheted animal creations she makes for her kids – they must have a whole menagerie by now!! My own son has Jenn’s adorable elephant he snuggles with at night (not to mention a delightfully warm blanket big enough to cover both baby and mommy while I was nursing him). Thank you, dear Jenn!

Jenn’s a mom of three: a precocious young man who shares my love for superheros, a sweet young lady who adores her older brother, and a new little girl! I love reading their adventures as told through their mom’s loving eyes.

Now for the kicker- she sews, crochets, and has three littles. But Jenn is also: a working medical professional! I don’t know how she does it, but she’s an inspiration to me that with determination and God’s help, we all have a lot to offer our families and the people around us!

Meet Jenn

Sitting outside my daughter’s ballet class, I listen to other moms waiting for their little ballerinas. I overhear one of them saying how they long to be back in the workplace, actually using her degree. I overhear another wishing for uninterrupted adult conversation. Then another remarks how she wishes for a break from the mind numbing daily routine. Conversely, a day later at work, I overhear co-workers lamenting about not being home with their kids, missing tiny voices and baby snuggles. Every time, I remind myself that I am in a unique position, for I live in both worlds. I am a part-time stay at home Mom and part time career professional. I get it all.

I get to feel aching heart strings as I drop my baby off with her dedicated baby sitter. An hour later I might find myself creating a wellness plan for someone else’s baby. In the midst of doing that I might hear a train pass by my office and think of my four year old daughter who loves train whistles blowing. My throat tightens even as I am helping to heal that other person’s little child. I miss my little girl!

Every time I work up a care plan for a little boy with asthma or a peanut allergy, I hear my own little guy in my head, my boy with those exact same problems. I wish I could hear his voice asking, “Can I tell you something, Mom?!?” While charting over lunch, pumping breast milk, I wonder to myself whether I’d instead rather be worn out from a day of breastfeeding. Leading to thoughts of diapering, shuttling, cooking, cleaning, and hearing, “Can I tell you something, Mom?” ten times a day. I find myself at the end of the day in my professional clothes with no spit up or sticky handprints. I laugh to myself thinking of people who see me at kindergarten functions or a business meeting, never knowing what I’ll be dressed in; comfy mom clothes or a professional business suit. That’s me: part time Mom, and a part time professional.

Getting to this point took a lot. Hard work, rigorous financial planning, a very supportive husband, and definitely some divine providence. Some of that divine providence was being guided to perfect caregivers for my kids while I work. I don’t think I could leave my children if I did not have the people watching over them that I do. I normally work two days a week. Not much, when you think about it. However, my non-work days are totally filled with preparing for my work days, plus I still have to do all the ‘normal’ Mom activities. I have come to find my days as a ‘stay at home’ mom can be more tiring than my work days. It’s easier to be at work than watch three kids.

I’m not implying that work isn’t tiring. I think it’s just not as non-stop labor intensive. I am a nurse practitioner for an allergy/asthma clinic, so ‘intense’ is something that often describes my job. In my heart, I tell myself that my profession is of a sort that helps me justify missing the time that I do from my kids’ lives. Also, I was raised by a single mother and we struggled financially the entire time. This taught me that I needed to be able to support my family should some circumstance require it. Finally, I want my children to witness me making these careful choices while keeping choices open for our family.

It is very much human nature to believe the grass is greener in someone else’s life than one’s own. I am not immune to these feelings. However, my life has exposed me to enough people’s experiences to know the pros and cons of many kinds of lives.

I am fortunate to be able to experience the best of both worlds as a mom.

What’s your current mom situation? Both worlds? Stay at home? Trying to conceive? How do you find contentment where you’re at?

You’re going to want to meet Jenn on her blog and read more of her parenting adventures. T Rex Mom and Dad Tales is a narrative style blog that will make you smile, give you a lot of crafty ideas for kids, and offer down-to-earth motherhood encouragement!