femxC.

It’s after midnight again. The only time I will likely get a few hours to focus my thoughts and draft in an uninterrupted setting seems to be the middle of the night.

I hear a coo and a whine, and if it escalates to a cry, I’ll pause to soothe my little love.

This is the person, outside of myself, who I spend the most time with. Admittedly, Baby’s Dada a.k.a. big love, and my parents and brother, and his parents get honorable mentions in that order.

You see, my little love relies on me to be his nourishment; that work that started in the womb was continued once he was placed in my arms. I am his primary comfort, his advocate, and his teacher. With each day, he gets older and bigger; I know our time of sharing this closeness is nearing its end, and I am basking in every moment of holding him in my arms while I can.

My big love supports me, is with us for core routines, and has carried on with sharing his morning routine with me. I often bring our little one into his office, for a quick cuddle or smile to lift his mood during the workday. And we share break times together, when we can, which takes my “full” of joy to “overjoy”.

We are with my parents, as they help me (and us) transition to our new role – what I consider to be my most important one. I’m grateful for them, and my brother who is always willing to run an errand right when it crosses my mind💙, and my sisters who drop by to visit with us. And on weekends, we go visit big love’s parents who always have love and hot tea and a solid prayer line.

A few years ago, I saw a graphic that showed who humans spend their time with over a lifetime. I’m glad to be chosen at this time by my little love. Because of him, we get to spend a little more time with our parents and families at this phase of our lives.

Being close to the people who love me more than makes up for the times in early adulthood when I felt lonely. Now, my days and my life feel so full and lush. My brain says, “The only constant, is change.” So when my days do change, and I’m back to work, I feel like I’ll countdown the hours / minutes / seconds until I can be back with my little love and my big love.

Sharing the journey❣️

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Are you a mom/parent? How did you handle returning to the workforce after parental leave? Let me know in the comments🙏🏾