Some big news around here: I will be going back to work for the first time in thirteen years! Back before we had kids, I never thought I would spend any stretch of time beyond maternity leaves out of the work force. Life threw us some curves that had me home for a couple years with a medically fragile child. And then, as we had more babies, it continued to make sense and be my desire to stay home full time - and thirteen years rolled by. Kenny has worked very hard as the sole income earner all this time, and God has faithfully provided for all our needs. And now that the kids are older and a good opportunity has presented itself, it seems like the right time for me to join back into the workforce.
I will be working part time as a child advocacy attorney, representing kids who are in the foster care system in their court cases. This is the same job I had right before I stopped working, and I really like it. It's one of the very few jobs in the legal world for which I've gained some skills during my time at home - I know a lot more about Early Intervention and IEPs, for example, and I know a lot more about how to interact well with children.
I have a swirl of emotions as I get back to legal work after such a long time away. I'm excited to get back to work, excited to do a job that's meaningful to me, and excited that it's available in a way that will work for our family (part time and mostly remote). I'm nervous, but this is helped greatly by going back to a job I've done before. And I'm grateful that my employer is giving me this opportunity after such a substantial time gap on the resume.
I'm working part-time because we are continuing to homeschool all three kids. I've written blogs about why I like homeschooling here and here. Homeschooling can be done in about 20 hours a week, and those hours can be very flexible - we'll see whether the students and teacher of this household can also adapt and be flexible - this will be an area of growth for us :).
I'm hoping these two things will combine well. I appreciate all prayers and well wishes, as this will be a big transition! And any tips from remote working homeschooling moms would be great :).
