This last week all the staff of Bethel Church took off for our annual staff retreat. This is a trip that I have attended every year with the team, but this year Jeremy and I decided that it would be best if I stayed home. With our little guy being full term, it didn’t seem like a great idea for me to drive 4 hours over the mountains away from my doctor. It was hard to send Jeremy away because there was a lot of “what if” wonderings. I dreaded the thought of having to call him and say “Come home quick!” Lucky, for me, nothing too eventual happened while he was away. Also, my mom came out to spend the night with me just in case something did happen. I’m blessed to have a family that takes good care of me.
It was strange to have the whole team off doing something that I am normally a part of. It’s odd to not be included after being in the loop for so long. Even though it was a different experience for me, I actually really loved staying home. The older I get it seems I become more of a homebody. I love being home. On Sunday after Jeremy hit the road, I gave my house a good cleaning and a fresh start for the week. My mom came over every night around 7:00pm and we would talk for a few hours and on Tuesday night we watched a movie together.
Sister day! Note the new scarf!
Now I didn’t just “stay” home all day, everyday. On Monday, I met up with my sister mid-morning for Starbucks and what I thought would be a trip over to Walmart once we were finished. That morning as I was getting ready, the weather was so fall like – gray and chilled. I decided to wear my new boots and as I looked at the outfit I decided I needed some scarves. All I have is wintery scarves, nothing light. I told April about my need for scarves and she explained where she usually gets hers. I tucked this knowledge away for “another day”. Our conversation was all over, about anything and everything. Then we started to talk about Chipotle and how we both haven’t been there in forever and how it sounded good! Well, it was only 11:00am and we both had no plans for the rest of the day, so we took off to Olympia to treat ourselves to a yummy Mexican lunch! It was amazing! The only downside was the fire alarm briefly went off while we were eating. No one evacuated the building so we assumed that it was a fluke thing. For a few minutes we ate with the deafening alarm. It eventually did turn off and I do believe no hearing damage was permanent. Since we were now in the “big city”, I decided to go scarf shopping! Nothing overboard, I just got two new scarves and it helped to fulfill my need to go fall clothes shopping. We hit Walmart on the way back home, so all items on the to-do list were taken care of.
On Tuesday, my mom offered to take to me to breakfast a local favorite. Again, I had no pressing plans for the day, so it was nice to get out for a short while. Any day that starts with a plate of pancakes is a good day! When I wasn’t out and about hanging with my family, I was home doing things that I love. I tidied the house, read books, wrote in my journal, made no bake cookies for my Wednesday night class, took naps! There was a never a shortage of things to do around the house.
I think the best part of this pre-baby maternity leave is I have plenty of time to go out with those I love, but I also have plenty of time to be quiet around the house. I love staying home, being in my comfy clothes and just working on my to-do list at my own pace. While I know being home with a baby will be different than this current season, I think I could really be one of those stay at home moms in the future. I am so content when I am home. I’m not missing the hustle and bustle of busy days. This has been the perfect way to enjoy the gray days of my favorite season. I really do love staying home.
Amy Scott's Thoughts 