To think that in such a place, I led such a life.

Those words, by Winston Churchill recalling his days as a student, are inscribed on a sculpture at the Hub of Miami University.  I spent five years there in Oxford, earning my undergrad and graduate degrees in accounting.  I learned even more outside of the classroom, meeting friends that have already lasted me over a decade.  While my days there lived up to the idea of such a life, my days since have been even more cherished. 

I never spent my days dreaming of children like some women do.  I wasn't into babysitting and baby dolls and baby anything.  I spent my days dreaming about my success as an accountant.  Even though I assumed children would be part of my life, part of my family (with the standard husband, kids, house, dog and white picket fence) I also assumed I'd be a working mom, dropping off at daycare each morning on the way to my wildly successful corporate career. 

I started off on the way to my dream, moving to Boston, settling into my career as a CPA, meeting an amazing man and buying a cute little house.  We even added two dogs to complete the American Dream.  Then the kids arrived and threw me for a loop.  The logistics of my career require long hours, which daycare doesn't cover.  The logistics of Ryan's career require months out to sea, which daycare also doesn't cover.  I couldn't quite get the hang of finishing my work by the time I had to leave to pick up Pete from daycare and I couldn't quite figure out how we would ever have time together as a family. I was working a tax season while Ryan was in port and then I had time off in the summer while he was out to sea.  So I quit to stay home with my first baby when he was about nine months old.  I assumed this would be a break for three to four years until he entered pre-school and I could get my "life" back.

After getting over the bored to death feeling, and learning to cook and bake from scratch- it's easier on the budget of a single income family, I decided that if I were going to be a stay-at-home-mom, I was going to REALLY be a stay-at-home-mom.  So we had two more boys, all three of them in under four years.  And now, I can honestly say I'm having fun.  Of course there are many challenges like frustrating days and sleepless nights, but I can actually say the satisfaction I get when Chester pees in the potty is equal to the joy I used to feel when I tied out a FAS 109 footnote.  I really never thought I would feel this way, but I do, and if I can enjoy motherhood, I'm pretty sure anyone can.   

Recently I considered ordering a hand-crafted sign common in military families- "Home is where the Coast Guard sends us" followed by a listing of all the places Ryan has been stationed.  But now that I think about it, I'd rather have a sign that says "To think that in such a place, I led such a life".