I am very thankful to have help with the kids, as it has been a very busy 9 months. My weeks include 2 hours of language study every weekday, hosting big groups for dinner twice a week (I cook and bake A LOT!), various writing tasks, communication with supporters, and monthly financial reports. This work (minus all the hosting) adds at least 12 hours to my week, on top of taking care of the kids full-time, cooking for the family, doing all the dishes (man do I miss my dishwasher!) and lots of laundry (hanging clothes takes SO long compared to having a drier!).
So far I’ve only had a friend clean our house every Saturday for a few hours but I’ve been feeling like I need more help. After being busy all day with the kids and studying Tagalog while they nap, its not fun to often “work” once they go to bed in the evening too. And now that Makai is almost one, I feel ready to let someone else watch him and Cody.
I met Ate Sam in our apartment complex, as she used to take care of a young boy from Russia whose parents worked at the embassy. When I heard they were moving back to Russia, I was pretty excited about the idea of having her help us. She loves the boys and we all really get along with her. I look forward to getting to know her and her family more.
So while its quite different from finishing a maternity leave, I do feel like I’m kind of going back to work twice a week. Right now I’m at a coffee shop while the boys play outside with Ate Sam and I have gotten SO much done in only an hour! And now I can also attend various events that usually only Darnell goes to. Next week there is a forum about the peace talks between the Government and the Community Party of the Philippines and I actually get to go!!!!
I’m excited for this new “phase” and feel really good about this decision.
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