I quit my teaching job, three weeks before the new school year.
This job was offering me six weeks of unpaid leave. And, I would have to use all of my sick days.
I guess I was ok with this when I found out. I didn’t feel like I had a choice.
My husband was in med school. So, it was his loans and my teacher salary that kept us afloat.
Speaking of afloat, I spent my whole summer off in the pool, floating. I would talk to my friend about me having to go back to work and how stressed I was, having to go back so quickly. How would I get to know this baby?
She suggested a reality where I considered not going back. I was curious about that reality, and as time passed I felt deeply in my soul that this is what we had to do.
Six weeks didn’t seem like enough at all. I could add short term disability but the numbers just weren’t adding up for me.
I decided three weeks before the new school year to take the school year off. I emailed my resignation letter to my principal. She was pissed. I don’t blame her. It’s not too easy to find a middle school math teacher weeks before the new school year.
But, she could be pissed. I did not have to own that. I had to do what was best for my family. And, I did.
Because four weeks, or six, or twelve is just not enough. And maybe for some moms it is. That’s also a reality. I know some parents who are itching to go back to work.
It turns out, as much as I didn’t think I was that mom who wanted to stay home for a while longer, I was.
I got eleven sweet months with James before heading back to work. We took out some extra loans so we could swing it financially. We barely made it out of that year financially standing. But, we did. I was very privileged in that way. I had a partner who could sustain us for a little while. I started going to work for a few hours at J.Crew on Sundays, and some later weeknights. We made it work.
And I got 44 weeks to get to know my baby so deeply, not four.
According to the NY Times, “The U.S. is one of seven countries without national paid maternity leave. The average length for those that have the leave is 29 weeks.”
I quit my job three weeks before the new school year, because the numbers just didn’t add up. They didn’t make sense then, and they surely don’t make sense now.
The rest of the world has found a way to take care of parents and children by providing parental leave. I think it’s past time the US does the same.
How long did you take off work after having children? Was it enough?
I was an “accidental” SAHM. It wasn’t in our plan at all, because I carried our insurance coverage through my job. Then my husband got a job transfer, and my new job became planning a move with a newborn.
At around eight months pregnant, I met with my supervisor to tell her that – surprise! – I would not be coming back after all. My maternity leave would have been 6 weeks plus a month of banked vacation that I planned to use to extend my leave. Knowing what I know now, it would absolutely not have been enough.
Thank you so much for sharing Ryan!