You're Hired

My need to run errands and have some personal time has finally trumped both my tendency towards being a martyr and my cheapness; we have officially hired a babysitter one day a week. I'm sure that some of you think this is ridiculous since I'm not gainfully employed or volunteering to save the world. I know that lots of stay at home Moms have no help, and I salute them. I assume these women are either infinitely more patient than I am or they take a lot of Valium, because I can't for the life of me understand how it's possible to be a full time mom seven days a week and not go insane.  Being a Mother is not only exhausting, but it can also be mind numbingly boring.  I love my kiddo, but I need to do things like shower and read something other than Goodnight Moon.  It turns out that getting some time to myself each week actually makes me a better Mommy. Having a chance to see friends and run errands and write without also trying to juggle a baby gives me a new lease on life.  Before we hired Katie I often found myself counting the hours, minutes and seconds until Noah's bedtime.  When I come home after having some time to myself I look forward to playing with Noah and I'm more engaged and present.  I was very resistant to hiring someone at first, mostly because I didn't want to spend the money. Chris was the one who pushed the issue, probably because he prefers having a wife who is showered and pleasant as opposed to dirty and grumpy. Whatever the case I'm so grateful that he put his foot down.  Now, instead of counting the minutes until the Muffin Man's bedtime, I count the seconds until Katie's arrival - only 1 day, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 3 seconds to go!