The Office

Yesterday was a momentous day.  It was my first time back at the office (as an employee, rather than a visitor) since May 15, 2008.  May 15th was a Thursday, and when I said goodbye to my co-workers for a long weekend, I fully expected to be back at work the following week.  I left multiple projects partly finished on my desk, I had post-it notes stuck all over my computer with reminders of tasks to be accomplished, I even left my raincoat in the office closet.  Little did I know that my life would change the very next day, and I wouldn’t be back at work for over nine months.  Friday, May 16th, Jim and I drove to the hospital for an ultrasound appointment.  It was a cool, rainy morning, and I remember anxiously awaiting warmer days so I could wear all my adorable new maternity clothes to work.  Needless to say, I never got to wear those outfits outside the hospital.  The next time I stepped foot outside, it was August and I was no longer in need of maternity clothes (well, that’s not quite true, since it took me a while to lose my twin pregnancy weight…but I didn’t get nearly as much use out of those clothes as I had planned!). 

Anyway, my return to the office was long overdue.  I was loathe to leave the girls even for the few hours I would be at work, but I was extremely thankful that Jim’s mom was willing and able to watch them for me.  I knew they were in good hands.  I was surprised at how emotional I became saying goodbye to them yesterday morning.  I was only going to be gone for about six hours, but that was the longest stretch we had been apart.  I had never missed a feeding before, and I was worried about how they’d do without me.  Needless to say, the separation bothered me much more than them.  They behaved beautifully for my mother-in-law, and didn’t seem to miss me at all.  My mom asked me if I minded the fact that the girls thrived in my absence, and I can honestly say that I was thrilled.   I perhaps wouldn’t be so happy about their independence if I anticipated leaving them frequently – I don’t want to be replaced, after all!   But I am so thankful that I don’t have to work full-time, that I have family to baby-sit the girls, and that my employer has been very flexible with my work schedule.  I only plan to work two to four days a month, and this arrangement works perfectly.  The girls get to have a fun day with their grandma, and I get to have a day where I exercise parts of my brain that do not involve the memorization of “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” and get to socialize with girls who are unlikely to burst into tears from fatigue or hunger (well, perhaps after a really long, hard day at the office, a few tears of frustration might be shed, but at least I wouldn’t be called upon to sing to anybody for soothing purposes!).