What a great week!

My first week of unemployment has been great!  Even that first Saturday was good because I didn't feel like I need to get everything done that day before the week started again.  On Monday I took Lydia to the teddy bear festival on the town green and we met up with some preschool friends there and had lunch at Whole Foods.  It was great talking to the mom and just feeling like I could be present without worrying about getting back to get my work hours in.  Lydia came home and at one point we were dancing and twirling in the kitchen and just having fun.  There were so many of those little moments this week.  Like seeing Dylan right when he comes home from school and just coming home after school and not running to do other things.  I read a book to the kids when Dylan came home and we practiced piano before dinner, which I made.  I also did a lot of little chores that I never seemed to have time for.  AND that was just the first day.  Later in the week I was able to call a friend who just had a baby just to check on how she was doing and I was available for another friend who wanted to bounce an idea off of me and felt like she was more free to call me now that she knows I wasn't working.  Our dinner time is not as rushed and we actually had some family worship time while the kids were finishing eating.  Even Martin said, "I feel like I should be doing something" one day when he came home but there was nothing else that he needed to do except play with the kids.  We just have some much more time now.  I'm sure it will fill up but for now I'm just going to enjoy this new pace.

I only had a tinge of "what is my purpose/value?" thinking. And maybe a tiny worry when I realized that every single car expense we have other than gas hits in the month of October, my first month without a paycheck.  Oh, and I realized that the mommy guilt really doesn't go away because now I just feel guilty for letting my kids watch TV or for checking facebook when they are awake.

So, on balance, just a great week and feeling so blessed that I am able to do this.