So excited....

I am just so happy right now! I feel as if a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. No, the extra 10 pounds I have hung on to since delivering Luke is still here - but this is even better! I get to go back to teaching half-time next year!!!!!!!

WAHOO!!!!

Yes, I still have to go back to full-time this spring. And yes, the budget won't have a lot of "wiggle room". But I am just thrilled. Dan and I took a hard look at finances, and saw that we could make it work. Then yesterday I met with my principal, and she was very supportive. The leave forms (since I will be taking a halftime leave) are all filled out, and HR has been notified. SO, barring any bizarre circumstances, it's all taken care of.

To be honest, I never expected that it would work out. I figured that with the childcare expenses for two, we would need my full income. But it will work, and life in our home should be more sane because of it.

Working half-time is my ideal. It gets me some adult contact and a life separate from my role as a mom, but still with enough time in the day to do chores and be a mom that can spend quality time with her kids. When I am working full days, I get home at 4:00 (still early, I know) and have 60 papers to grade and lesson plans to write. When I work half days I get home at noon and only have 30 papers. It allows me to do a better job both at school and at home.

I can't express how much I appreciate the sacrifices that Dan is willing to make for this to be able to happen. I hope that he can see how it will benefit him, too. Not only is a happy mama a good thing for the family, but it gives a more time for house cleaning, laundry, making dinner, and other errands during the day so that our evenings run more smoothly. It is important that his life is improved because I am home more, too.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...already, life feels better!