Did we fall off the face of the earth?

Ummm.....no. What can I say, it is hard to be a mommy, it is hard to be a wife, it is hard to be a full-time lobbyist to an energy start up that has huge issues with the U.S. EPA in an era of anti-coal sentiment and still blog. But, I realize that I am the one and only family historian, so with that, I will attempt to post from time-to-time.

Jack is one month from being 5, the twins are 2 and 1/2. Everyone is doing very well. I last posted in December and having re-read it today, really was having a tough time at that particular period. As we all know, I have had and still do have a conflict with being a lobbyist as it requires travel and thinking that the grass is always greener on the lawyer side of the working world. It isn't. The billing of hours and perserverence required is hard for someone who's life is not about work anymore, but is about buidling a family, which is what mine is. Unfortunately, building of a family takes funding, and so, here we are. I think that we as a society spend a lot of time thinking that certain women are selfish, not self-sacrificing enough if we work, those of us who work hate the ones that stay at home. (I certainly fall victim to this, even though I did spend two years at home and KNOW how hard it is.) I would still be at home, though, if it were financially possible. But, one thing that I have learned the hard way as an adult is that money, while it does not buy happiness, does buy security, and that is what I want for my children. I want them to have their educations paid for and have some trust funding left over to get started in life. And, so........lobbying is where I am. Again.

As skeptical as I am about it, I continually succeed in this line of work, so I am moving toward embracing my career choice, even though I still sometimes think of it as a second choice. It is, but maybe it is not as secondary as I once thought. Anyway, following the nearly constant sickness of all three kiddos, it became clear that if I am to work, I need to earn enough to pay for a nanny because we simply do not have the type of jobs that allow for time off intermittenly nor do we have the family structure to be able to assist when we need it. I harbor some resentment about this, but, it is what it is, and instead of being bitter, we move toward solution. And so, I took the director of public relations and government affairs job with Prairie State Energy Campus, which I am loving. And I make enough to have the babies stay at home and Jack to stay at school, but we have back up. Kimberly truly does make our lives easier. She is a godsend and we are able to keep things going with her on staff.