by Wendy R.

Created on: September 27, 2009   Last Updated: December 08, 2009

Motherhood is a wonderful experience if you are lucky enough to experience it. It can be very positive but can be somewhat negative depending on the situation, and whether or not a woman is ready to be a mother. Whether it is more positive than negative depends on your priorities.

Motherhood is a full time job itself. If you don't believe that, than you probably don't have children. Having a career while you have small children is a tremendously difficult balancing act, and something usually has to give. In my case, it was the career, as I would never have sacrificed time with my children for the career I had.

Once my oldest child was born, I worked at my career part time on off shifts, weekends and occasionally on holidays. This began to take a toll on me after the birth of my second child. After a few years, my children wanted me home on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and not working. It wasn't difficult for me to give up this career, as I missed spending the time with my family.

At first I was able to work part time in a doctors office three days a week, no holidays or weekends, but when he closed his lab, I lost my job. So I did the next best thing. I got a lower paying job (even though I have a Master's degree) working as a teaching assistant in a school. While this was great in some aspects ( summers and holidays off), the pay was poor. I figured it was worth it because I was home when the kids were home, didn't have to find a sitter on snow days and could spend time doing things with them over the summer.

Now that they are grown (college age), I have found it increasingly difficult to find a job in my previous field. Nobody wants to hire a fifty year old. I have gone out and gotten by New York state license in my old profession, but that hasn't helped at all. Of course, part of the problem has been the job market. Only recently have I even gotten a response to any resumes.

At this point, I am willing to take less pay just to get back into a similar field. Working as a teaching assistant with a Master's degree is difficult. While the people I work with are wonderful, I feel that I need a little something for me now that my children are grown. I don't regret what I did because they have turned out wonderful, and bright, but now that it's time for me, I am having a difficult time. My experience in my former field is not recent enough.

So while motherhood has been great, it's very important to think about it thoroughly before having a baby. The beautiful baby will change your life forever. They are wonderful, just be ready to give up something job wise, to get a whole lot more in return.

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