Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a great weekend and a great start of the week. CONGRATS!!! You made it through your Monday! I’m sitting here on this fine Monday afternoon, reflecting on my time back at school.
As you may have known, I went back to work this two Wednesdays ago. And the day before my first day was not fun. It was spent crying, begging for more time at home, googling careers that I could do at home, praying to God to help me, and not ever putting JoJo down. I know I was prepared and was going to give my students the education they deserve, but as every working mom might remember…this was supposed to be one of the harder days of your career. Based on that Tuesday, I THOUGHT the remainder of the week was going to be full of tears, calls to Joel and JoJo during breaks, and continually looking at baby pictures on my phone!
But want to know what actually happened??? How it actually went?? It went NOTHING how I thought. God answered my prayers. And He provided me more joys than I ever expected.
I was surprised in the morning…it was a jeans day at school!!!
I left in the morning with dry eyes and smiles after cute baby snuggles and great chats with my husband.
I arrived at school greeted by coworkers with bright eyes and big hugs!!
My current class, previous students, and kiddos I’ve never taught smiled, excitedly shrieked, and swarmed me with hugs!!
My amazing teammate planned and copied everything for the week to make a smooth transition!!
I had time to look ahead and plan fun activities for the next week!
The day went by so quickly!
Our sweet custodian rushed over to my classroom first at the end of the day to catch me before I went home!
Our staff meeting after school was canceled—more time for baby snuggles!!
I came home after a good day’s work to snuggle Baby JoJo before he went down for a nap! He napped in my arms while I did a little work!
Our evening was filled with normal activities: a fun dinner that Joel made, Baby JoJo’s nighttime routine, and relaxing with Joel!
When people asked me at the end of the day and week how it all went, I told them it went great..because it did. I am smiling and laughing just thinking about how wonderful it went. God answered my prayers and gave me exactly what I needed. I just wish I had trusted Him sooner and not “wasted” my Tuesday with tears.
Thinking back to these past two weeks, I’ve realized I’ve become a better mom because I’m now working and I’ve become a better teacher now that I’m a mom.
Am I more efficient at school? Maybe somewhat. But I feel before Baby J, I was a hard worker and tried to do as much as I could while I was there.
Am I more present at home? Maybe a little bit more? But I feel like before going back to work I definitely was slow and savored each moment with my baby.
I know it’s because God has helped lead me in both places…giving me what I needed to go through the day: strength, wisdom, love, patience, forgiveness, joy. And He can do the same for you! He helped guide me and teach me some things to make the day go by smoothly.
Here are some things I have learned when returning back to work that helped with the transition! These could be especially helpful to fellow teachers:)
- Start the day accepting the fact that things will happen outside of your control, no matter how hard you try.
- Surrender your fears and desires. You will be taken care of and if you ask, you will be given exactly what you need to go through the day that has be planned for you!!
- If possible/you’re not already doing so, wake your baby up right before you’re leaving.
- Change your morning routine to be a little bit earlier so you can get some morning snuggles before you leave. Then hey, it’s only like 8 hours until you see your baby again… and really maybe 5 depending on their nap schedule!! They won’t know you’re gone during those!!)
- Thank the Lord for amazing teammates and colleagues OR pray for some if you don’t have that.
- I had a wonderful maternity sub who helped my class so much!! I am so grateful of everything she did!! And I have an amazing teammate who was waiting for my return. She went above and beyond and had been planning and copying everything for a smooth transition back. I thank God for her (and my other teammate who is on maternity leave too) so much!!! It was 1749273 times easier returning back to work when I knew I had a loving helper waiting for me and working so hard to make things easier for me!! If you don’t have that, pray to God, because He also can send the best Helper to you.
- Pumping at work isn’t ideal, but it’s a nice quiet time.
- For me, it’s a time where it’s definitely uninterrupted. It’s a little “me time” where I know I can either get something done for school without distractions OR I can catch up on some personal things. Either way, instead of thinking “this is so annoying and definitely not as comfortable than doing it at home”, think of it as a time to refocus without any DISTRACTIONS(change word)
- Get yourself (or gift it to someone like my aunt did) this picture frame that records sounds.
- This was by far one of my favorite gifts!!!! My aunt gave it to me on Tuesday. She told me she had one similar when she returned to work after her first daughter who is currently 22!! It’s a picture frame that records sounds. I put in a picture of Baby J and was able to get him to make some coos and noises. It’s on my desk right now and I play it when I need a little smile. My students are obsessed with it too❤️
- You race home—within the legal limit—to see your baby!! Contact naps are recommended 😛
- That first day, I left as soon as I could!!! I remember calling Joel and asking how our baby was doing. He was just about to go down for a nap and I was like WAAAIIIITTTTT. When I got home, I grabbed our little guy, swaddled him up, kissed him a billion times, and let him fall asleep in my arms. I watched him for a good 10 minutes and then was able to prop my computer up and finish up some things while he was snoozing. Going home and snuggling while finishing work>>>>>>>finishing work at school and having to wait to see my baby!!!
- Be present in your places and prioritize. Ask God to help you prioritize.
- I give 110%+ to my students and staff when I’m at school and 110%+ to my family when I’m at home. Being present in the moment has helped me do what I need to do. I’ve created “to-do” lists on my phone for both work and home, but I don’t expect to get it all done each day. I prioritize the list and do what needs to be done in the present. I know the other things can get done in the future and will get done when they need to. It’s definitely not procrastinating, because I still do them, but I’m not rushing through the list. I’m enjoying each task as an opportunity to give it my all and serve. I know that if it’s important to do, if it’s a must do, God will give me the time. Now that I think of this, I’ve been doing this for my students: A Must Do and May Do list.
- I’ll also say that I’ve found joy and still feel like I’m being present when Baby JoJo is napping on me and I’m doing some school work. That allows me to be even more present at school with my students AND with JoJo when he’s awake!
- Remind yourself that in this season of life, God is calling you to be a working mom. Ask Him for His help!
- I would love if I could stay at home with my son forever and ever, but that’s not the plan for us right not. I know that God was calling me back to teaching and being a working mom. If God was calling me back to this, I knew he wouldn’t let me down. He wouldn’t allow me to be a mom who was not there for her son & He wouldn’t let me be a “bad” teacher who wasn’t there for her students. Only He could give me the power to do both! He’s doing the same for you, working mama!
For those of you who are returning back to work after a maternity leave, any leave, break, or even just after Sunday… you can do it!! You can do it, just ask God for His strength!!!
Every morning pray asking for whatever you need to go through the day. Then, watch Him do wonders as He did for me each week❤️
XOXO,
Mrs. DeCLAIREing Happiness Mama & Teacher
mrsdeclaireinghappiness.com 