Me a Stay-at-Home Mom?

Friends,
This post is overdue but I say better late than never. I'd like to fill you in on how I came to be a Stay-at-Home Mom. AKA SAHM. I never in a million years thought I would be a SAHM. I mean I had a career. I had a job I loved with people I loved. I was the one who took care of (I mean taught) other peoples' kids. When Princess was a baby, I was so happy to return to teaching after my maternity leave was over. Sure I missed my baby girl but we caught up when I got off of work. There were plenty of milestones that I did not miss. I had it all: the white picket fence, the career, a loving husband and a cute kid.
 Princess was in daycare/ preschool until she entered school. Shortly after Princess turned two, my husband became more of the SAHD. He worked part time but I was the main bread winner. It worked for us because I had a career that I adored.
Well in 2012 that all began to change. My career became increasingly stressful. At the same time  Princess became more unstable. In early 2012 I decided to take some time off of work to work on my stuff. I have to admit. I enjoyed my time off. I was able to just focus on being a mom and a wife.
Then in August of 2012 I returned to teaching with a new found vigor. By gum I was going to make this work. It quickly became apparent that I could no longer handle the stress of full time teaching so I went out on leave again at the beginning of October.
Shortly after I went out, things started to really heat up with  Princess. It became clear to me that she needed her mom to be there for her. My husband was doing a fabulous job but there is just something about a mother's touch. My maternal instincts kicked into high gear and I did everything in my power to get help for my child. If  Princesshad cancer or diabetes,  I would have stopped at nothing to get her the best help that I could find.
As  Princess became more and more stable, I realized that she needed more of me than I had previously been giving her. If she would have been a regular kid, perhaps I would have been able to keep teaching but that is not the case. She is a high needs child. Her needs are high so I must rise to the challenge and do what is required of me.
When I first started noticing how stressful teaching was becoming for me, I freaked out. I didn't understand why God was giving me this trial. I thought that my husband and I were already at our limit for stress. It didn't make sense to either of us. Well now I know. It was so that God could show me where He needed me most: At home taking care of Princess's needs.
So what do I do when Princess is on school. I thought I'd be bored to tears but I am not. I actually enjoy doing things around the house like cooking and laundry. I am a moderator for one of the support groups at The Balanced Mind Foundation., an online community for parents with children who have mood disorders. I spend time coordinating  Princess's educational and mental health needs. ( I looked at our schedule for next week. We have at least one appointment every day that is related to  Princess's mental health needs. Yikes!) I get to go grocery shopping without feeling rushed.  Yes I do get to meet with friends on occasion but that is the exception, not the rule. I do hope to get involved in a weekly women's bible study too.
This will be a stretch for our family financially but I have faith that this is where God wants me to be for now.

 This picture as taken a while ago but is still one of my favorites.

As an aside- About the time my career in teaching, my husband's was just taking off. We are hopeful that his new job will continue to do just that. Who brought him this job? Why God of course. More in another post.