Male Customer: Have a nice vacation.
Me: (smiles politely, walks away without speaking…maternity leave is not a vacation)
I am currently 11 weeks into my maternity leave. I was supposed to start back at work next week, but circumstances warranted a longer absence. I now find myself with more confidence than ever when it comes to taking care of my first child. With this growing confidence comes a surge of creative energy. Here I am writing a blog post and fixing up the website I started, and abandoned, almost two year ago. Life was just too busy to keep up with many creative pursuits post-grad school…at least when it comes to documenting them.
As my kid naps in the other room, I realized that maybe I can have enough moments to myself to be creative again. No, maternity leave is not a vacation. But maybe it can continue to change my life in positive ways that don’t solely involve child care.