Drum roll please...
Ta Da! My first Vlog. I will spare all explanations on my new medium for converstation to the below video. I hope you enjoy - if you do, let me know - if you don't, well - let me know. Comments below!
As promised above - my decision to stay home.
In September we welcomed our fourth Son into the family - Orion. An absolute joy and treasure - and a phenomenal home birth. More on that here. But that brought our count to a whopping 4 boys (the boy part being less significant but kind of cool - come on?! We almost have a basketball team!). One of which was a newborn and now an infant.
Truthfully - Trent and I were headed down this road from the beginning. We knew if we added another muchacho to the mix one of us would need to stay home both financially and to support the family emotionally. And I, after an awesome 12 years at the station and with the Symphony was ready. I'd completed some amazing projects, nurtured a new relationship between CPR and the Symphony, worked with some incredible and historical individuals and even knocked quite a few things off my bucket list. And - I missed our boys.
I wanted to be home... and Trent had just gotten into the Police Academy and finally had the opportunity to achieve his childhood dream of becoming an officer. It was a good fit. So I took the longest maternity leave possible while I came to terms with my decision (I still had one foot in the door, I wasn't completely ready to be a 'dependent') and then, I wrote it. One of the quickest, most honest letters I may have ever written.
Thank you Cincinnati Public Radio for the experience and life at the station. But it's my time. My time to be with my family, support my husband and explore new opportunities for myself. I am ready.
Heh - kind of. It hasn't been an easy transition for me. I miss my financial autonomy. I've never been a dependent. And I've always been working in Music. There have been many tears, fights and questioning over what I have chosen. What kind of proud feminist becomes financially dependent and subservient to her husband?!! Well - here is the kicker. I'm not.
My husband and I are a team - and if it weren't for him being the much needed broken record reminding me of that in my days of doubt - I'd still be a train wreck. Here's the thing I've realized. It takes a strong woman. Not to become a stay-at-home mom, but to realize what is truly important to them. For me - being there for my husband and children means the world to me. I am tired of navigating my work schedule to fit my needs at home. And then the one thing, most important sacrifice I'd been making? Me.
What I've learned is that being at home isn't just about being home for everyone else, but finally having the opportunity to carve time out for myself. I love to knit, write, chat, talk, communicate - I've joined a knitting club, we have Woodburn Village dinners, and now I can write and vlog here.
So that was our decision. My husband and I. Is it always easy - uh, no! but what marriage with 4 busy, chaotic kiddos is? But it's our's. Our decision, our family. And my life. It was my career, it is my passion to be here - present in this nest filled with hectic schedules, homework, laughter, fights, conflicts and communication. I'm fulfilled and proud to stay-at-home.
authored by Chelsea Crutcher