Day 5: March 3, 2012

I am approaching the last day of my maternity leave, and I admit I have mixed feelings. Part of me has that first day of school feeling, and I am ready to see my students. I have some new ideas and some new plans for them. Part of me wants to stay home with my sweet babies, and part of me worries Samantha will think I have abandoned her. In short, I have the same feelings that every working mother has when she leaves her children. For days now, my mantra has been, "I can do this." I know I can, and I will. This is the last of my pity party on this topic. I had planned to accomplish so much during my leave and to go back to work with an organized life. Instead, I spent too much time watching Samantha and playing with Bryce. I don't regret a minute of the past three months. I got to know this beautiful little girl that God sent to bless us. I got to spend time with my silly, sweet son. That is all I needed from this time. Right now, Tony is upstairs trying to convince Bryce to go to sleep, and Samantha is stretched out in her bassinet laughing and talking to her mobile. If you had asked me a year ago if I planned on having any more children, I would have said, "No." The thing is that I didn't know how much I was missing. I thank God every day that he blessed us with this surprise and made our family complete. Life is truly good in the Paramore house!