As soon as I found out that I was pregnant, I had decided that I would be a Stay-at-Home Mom: at least till the day my little one starts full-time school.
Well, it was not so tough to take the decision considering that I was not working even before pregnancy. I had to move to Switzerland after marriage as my husband was based there on deputation and became a housewife as I simply couldn’t find a suitable job.
Fast forward to a few months after V’s birth, I found a wonderful opportunity to work-from-home for a start-up in India.I felt excited and thrilled to work again and do something interesting. It felt great to have something to talk about and discuss other than mundane domestic issues.
Since then, I couldn’t stop dreaming about the day V would start school. As then, I would be able to start working full-time outside home as well.
Considering the current trend wherein kids start their schooling at much earlier ages; I had also decided to enroll V into a play group at a Montessori school once he completed 20 months.
Decision taken, my countdown for D-day started.
However, fate decided otherwise and we had to move out of India again due to my husband’s work.We moved to UK when V was about 14 months old.What was initially meant to be a 6 months assignment gradually extended into a one year project.
I instinctively knew that we wouldn’t be able to afford to send V to a play group in UK on a single income as childcare costs are exorbitant. Kids start nursery at around 3 years, and since V was not even two when we shifted to the UK, that option was ruled out too.
And so, that is the story of how V gets to enjoy a few more months of freedom by staying at home while I have decided to compromise and cut down on a little bit of my free time.
V will start going to a playschool after we return to India at around 27-28 months of age.
In a way, I am glad it all worked out this way. I feel less stressed too as I don’t have the pressure of getting V ready by a stipulated time everyday.
Also, I have learnt a lot about childcare in the last few months mostly by reading other blogs and watching videos and vlogs on YouTube while searching for ways to keep V occupied and entertained.
The best part of it all, is the satisfaction of being able to spend quality time with V and watch his progress and development.
And THAT is PRICELESS!!!