My Favourite Part of Not Working
Tomorrow marks 3 months since I officially resigned from my job.
3 months, since I officially left my career to focus on our family.
3 months, since I admitted to the world that I couldn’t do everything.
Well, 3 months later, we are not pregnant which is starting to drive me crazy and is starting to make me worry about other possible infertility problems (i.e. scar tissue from 2 D&C’s).
And, 3 months later, at times I am rather stressed and lost without my career and its associated daily routine. I make an effort to stay in touch with some colleagues and close friends in industry, and work very hard to keep myself occupied on a regular basis.
But, rather than dwell on some of the negatives associated with not working, I thought today I’d share my favourite thing about not working 60-70+ hours a week in a high stress position with an at times not nice employer.
My absolute favourite thing about not working is my new found relationship with:
Photo Source (Adapted from original): Office.com Clip Art
Sleep makes me so happy that I’ve thought about trying to take a happy day photo of it, but I honestly don’t know how because it would be so hard to photograph since I would be asleep. Oh, and it probably wouldn’t be a very attractive photo and not really the type of photo I want to use to give away my identity. Anyways, I digress.
For the first time in what feels like years, I am not waking up at 5:30am to be in the office by 6:30am. I am not waking up in the middle of the night having a virtual panic attack over what didn’t get finished the day before when I left after 12 hours at my desk. I am not waking up in the morning worried about what my inter-office politics are going to drive me crazy that day. I am not worried about my utilization rate. I am not worried about winning a new project. I am not worried about hiding a high risk pregnancy. I am not worried about attending an upcoming out of town meeting, while not being allowed to travel outside of the city due to a high risk pregnancy. I am not trying to balance my work commitments with multiple medical appointments, counsellor appointments, miscarriages, narcotic pain medications, surgeries, exploratory procedures, and constant blood work, etc.
More often than not I can now sleep through the night (so long as my husband’s snoring doesn’t wake me up).
More often than not, I no longer set an alarm clock. My body generally wakes me up around 8am. And if for some reason I find myself very tired during the day, I may just have an afternoon nap.
So, if nothing else, my break from work has been worth it because I’ve learned to sleep again.
And, let me tell you, being able to sleep through the night means I am less tired then I was on an almost daily basis when I was working and not sleeping.
I never knew I’d think of sleep as a huge success, but honestly, right now it’s a huge success that will have tremendous payoff in my personal life and hopefully in our next pregnancy.
And, if I’m really lucky, when I do eventually return to professional full-time employment, my ability to sleep will continue as I will have learned to effectively practice stress management techniques and will also know how to lead a more balanced life.
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My Perfect Breakdown 
You are awesome. Thank you for the reminder about the good parts. None of us can have it all – but some balance would be nice, right?
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Balance would be so nice!!
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SO glad that it has been a very RESTFUL break for you! Praise God for that!
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I am so enjoying feeling rested 🙂
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I am almost jealous. I keep thinking about how wonderful it would be to take the next few weeks off for IVF, but there’s just no way I can. Plus I’d be stressed the whole time about the pile of work I’d have to come back to. Why couldn’t I have been born wealthy??? Lol
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Part of the reason I actually finally had to resign was the stress of what I’d go back to, and the stress of my office still calling and emailing me on a regular basis. So not fun.
Oh, how I wish I too were born wealthy!! Instead, all in the hope of having a healthy next pregnancy, we’ve made some pretty substantial lifestyle changes to be able to afford for me not to work. Not ideal, but if the end result is a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, then it will totally be worth it! 🙂
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October marks 2 years for me–not for ttc purposes, but because my job was making me sick with stress and anxiety. Nothing better came up & we could afford for me to stay home. It was hard at first but it works well for us–he keeps a crazy schedule & I have time to take care of myself and everybody else. Enjoy not waking up to an alarm! XOXO
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Its funny, already there are many things about be staying at home that we are enjoying because my husband also works a crazy schedule. Things like being able to get grocery shopping done during the day, making super, etc. I am about 99% confident I will go back to work, but I suspect I wont return to a full time job given the benefits of me not working. 🙂
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i feel like I could have written this post 🙂 it will be 3 months for me on the 30th. thank you for highlighting the positives! I always appreciate your posts!! Now, off to the gym and then a nap. hehe.
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Sometimes I have to work hard to see the positives, but when I woke up from my late afternoon nap today, the positives were so obvious. 🙂
I hope you have had a wonderful day!
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Sleep is so much needed and its so easy for us to forget it. Glad you are enjoying it more!
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Good point about overlooking our need for sleep. I was definitely guilty of that for way to long.
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OMG yes sleep is awesome. I am a student/ graduate researcher so while I do work, it is not a traditional 9 to 5. I LOVE sleeping in. It is so energizing. I am so glad you were able to quit that high stress job. Oftentimes the paycheck is just not worth it.
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Sleep truly is awesome! So glad you get to sleep in too!
It took me and my husband a long time to see that the paycheck wasn’t worth all the work stress and pregnancy stress on my shoulders. Something just had to give, and we weren’t prepared to give up on having children, at least not yet. So now that I’ve stopped working, we are both really enjoying our new lifestyle.
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LOVE that you are getting your sleep and seeing the positives of being at home. I cut down on my hours majorly after the stress of the losses, and although I feel guilty about it most of the time, I am extremely well rested, haha. But we need all the strength we can get! 🙂
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We absolutely do need all the strength we can get! And, getting more sleep definitely helps with that! 🙂
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I have finally gotten all caught up on your blog! Sleep is a beautiful thing…keep enjoying it as long as you can!!! 🙂
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You read everything? Wow, I’m not sure if I should be shocked, surprised, or complimented! Or maybe a bit of each. 🙂
And yes, sleep is beautiful! I will keep enjoying it so long as I can keep doing it!
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I cannot relate to the positives but I can relate to sleep deprivation and disruption while working a high stress job. 😦
I am both envious of your situation (not working, sleeping!) and grateful that you have been able to sacrifice and work together to create this opportunity for growth, healing and family. I truly hope that before you know it the effort brings home your long awaited little one, my friend.
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I don’t know how you do it all while also caring for your miracle child!
I just really hope the sacrifice works out for us. Somedays I’m not so convinced that it will. But I know we gave to try. I guess only time will tell (how I hate having to be patient).
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Totally agree. When I sleep better, my life outlook is also improved. Looking forward to reading more of your findings!
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It is so amazing how important sleep is to the general quality of life! I think I had lost sight of that for a few years.
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