that one time i worked my "dream job" for 6 months

I started working on the Infant Medical Surgical Unit at Primary Children's Hospital in January. I have always wanted to work at Primary Children's and by the end of my RN program I was sure I wanted to work in pediatrics. It has been an amazing job and I have learned so much and gained a lot of experience. The people I work with have been awesome, management has been amazing, and I get to work with babies and toddlers.

But this amazing job has also meant leaving my own baby for full time hours every week and that has been SO hard.

It turns out my dream job is to be at home full time with my kid (soon to be kids!)

A series of events including missing Gracie so bad it hurts every time I go to work, missing way too many weekends with dawson, our fantastic babysitter moving away for the summer, my mom starting a full time job and not being able to babysit anymore, finding out I would have to miss family trips this summer due to my schedule, and just being so dang tired from such a crazy schedule and being pregnant, led me to decide to quit and be home with Gracie and soon the baby. I think I have felt this decision would be the right one for a long time, but was too worried about a number of things. If I would regret it later, what other people would think, if it would be too hard financially, etc. But once Dawson and I really sat down and talked about it and realized me being home made the most sense for me and for all of us, I moved forward with my decision confidently and I'm so glad I did.

Will I miss working at such an amazing hospital? Absolutely, but not as much as I have missed Gracie every time I'm at work. Will I ever get an opportunity like this again? Who knows, maybe not. But I do know my kids will never be this little again and I'm so excited to be able to soak up more time with them.

I am also excited for Dawson and I to both have more balance in our lives. Mine has been out of whack since working so much, and he has had to pick up so much slack in my absence (he has been amazing at it, though).

After the baby comes I am going to look for a job, or maybe even a volunteer opportunity that will let me work just a few hours a week to keep my RN license active.

It was a hard choice to make, but I feel really good about it. Gordon B. Hinckley said, "You will come to know that what appears today to be a great sacrifice, will prove instead to be the greatest investment you will ever make."

-kandis