This is it...

...my last day as a stay-at-home-mom! I'm overwhelmed with emotion as I stare at the screen tonight. Excitement. Fear. Joy. Sadness. You name it and I've felt it on this day, May 31st, 2011.  Tomorrow I return to my part time job for the next couple weeks, until I eventually return to a full time position on June 16th. Tomorrow is Brooklyn & Bryson's first day at their new school! Bryson is excited, I can tell! He's so full of smiles and coos nowadays that nothing can get his stomach in knots. Except for some gas every now and then. But that passes, as we all know! He's such a joy of a baby! He smiles when we lean over to pick him up out of bed, or when we talk to him and poke those chubby cheeks. He is his daddy's child, that's for sure!  Always cheerful and optimistic. 

Brooklyn and I had a great day together today! We went on a morning jog, watched a favorite DVD together, played on the living room floor, ran around outside...but most of all, we shared lots of hugs and kisses! She is such a sensitive and sweet little girl. When she first started hugging us, it took lots of bribing and then we would get a lame one-armed attempt of a hug. But now? Oh boy, does she have it mastered! She wraps her little arms around you, lays her head on your shoulder and sometimes you'll even get lucky with a 'muuu-aaah!'. It'll make you feel like the most special person in the world. Well, it has that effect on me, anyway. And she was full of bear hugs today. I couldn't help but wonder if she didn't feel my haywire emotions. 

I have been at home nearly full time since March 18, 2010. I had a very difficult time leaving Brooklyn every day to go to work, so I left my job and took on the challenge of being a full time mommy! As I've expressed in the past, I couldn't hang being at home all the time. I yearned for a professional challenge. So I found this wonderful part time job that kept me busy for the past 6 months. But even that didn't fill the void that was created when I abandoned my career aspirations last March. I'm humbled and deeply grateful to have accepted a similar full-time position back at my former employer, beginning June 16!! I'm so excited to resume that part of my life and feel complete again! But with that decision comes the anxiety I referred to. Anxiety for my dear Brooklyn, who isn't the best at transitions. She takes a while to warm up. And she warms up best when my leg is nearby for grasping:

I'm certain that she'll grow to love her new teachers and thrive in our new routine. But in the meantime, I'll be wearing water-proof mascara, drinking lots of caffiene, and will probably require some extra support until I get in the jive of juggling the life of a working mom.