They say that time passes quickly when you get older. It is true you know, it does seem to go by at an alarming rate once you reach middle age. Anyway, Ana had her 18th Birthday last Saturday and as I looked back over the last 18 years, they did go in fast forward. Twenty years ago when I moved to Los Angeles I was running away (with my two young sons) from a bad marriage. I had met Tom in August of the previous year and we had spoken with each other occasionally over the phone so when he invited me to move to Los Angeles and I accepted, it was more or less like going into the unknown. My sons didn't know Tom, but he was about as opposite from their father as a person could possibly get. I was approaching 40, had one grown son, another two sons, 11 and 6, well on their way, and it had not crossed my mind to start a new family. Tom had never been married, had no children, and it HAD crossed his mind. So when he said, "I would like to have a couple kids," it occurred to me that it might not even be possible. Well, that was December, by May I was expecting Ana; I was 40.
I had worked, before and after, having my other three children, and it wasn't easy. I had worked, cooked, cleaned, gardened, paid bills, grocery shopped, and spent a good portion of my time going from bar to bar trying to locate my drunken ex-husband. So this new marriage and pregnancy was a breeze by comparison. I had gotten a job at a bank as an AVP a week after I moved to LA, and I worked right up until the month Ana was born. I was supposed to return to work when she was three months old, but for many reasons, I just couldn't do it. Leaving a tiny new baby with someone that you just don't know wasn't something that I could do. So I kissed my career goodbye and became a full time housewife and mother. It would be many years before I had any desire to work outside the home again.
I had worked, before and after, having my other three children, and it wasn't easy. I had worked, cooked, cleaned, gardened, paid bills, grocery shopped, and spent a good portion of my time going from bar to bar trying to locate my drunken ex-husband. So this new marriage and pregnancy was a breeze by comparison. I had gotten a job at a bank as an AVP a week after I moved to LA, and I worked right up until the month Ana was born. I was supposed to return to work when she was three months old, but for many reasons, I just couldn't do it. Leaving a tiny new baby with someone that you just don't know wasn't something that I could do. So I kissed my career goodbye and became a full time housewife and mother. It would be many years before I had any desire to work outside the home again.
As we were all sharing in Ana's happy Saturday birthday it occurred to me, it had all turned out pretty well. And it was all worthwhile. Children benefit from having a parent at home. They really do. And they benefit double when they have TWO parents at home.
Posts
