I Have a Confession to Make

Pregnancy is all about change you can't control. I suppose it's good preparation, then, for all the changes you are about to encounter as a mother. Intellectually, I knew motherhood would change me, but it wasn't until all those changes started happening that I realized how easy it would be to lose myself to this mom person. And that is a big part of why I started this space...to have a place of my own, somewhere to voice the thoughts, the frustrations, the joys, sort out the confusion.

Recently, I've noticed a few of the subtle changes from the professional working gal to the stay at home mama.

• The steady increase of the number of flats in my closet, their position at the front for easy reach and the fact that on our few and far between date nights I often plan my outfits around which pair of heels I can wear. Sad, but true.
  
• The budget, oh, the budget!
  
• The metaphorical dust on the iron. Hubby's got the market on this household appliance, lately since my t-shirts, shorts and jeans very rarely, if ever, need an iron.
• The complete and utter lack of math skills. Okay, I never really had a strong handle on math, but my working life required enough budgeting skills that at least it kept it fresh. Let's just say there was a coffee brewing mishap this weekend because I couldn't differentiate between ounces and whatever the heck was marked on the side of the coffee pot. Sorry again, hubby, for the caffeine headaches!
  

But the biggest indicator...this news junkie has canceled her daily newspaper subscription. It was all too often going straight from the driveway into the recycle bin. I suppose I should take comfort that in canceling it I'm actually doing something good for the environment. The fact of the matter, however, is that I feel like I'm admitting some sort of defeat. I used to read three papers a day, not to mention track more news websites than I can number, five business journals a week, and a slew of news mags and trade journals. And that was just the print media I kept up with, then there was the TV and radio.

Have I had withdrawal yet? Nope. As I said, I wasn't reading it before anyway and I can seek out the news I want/need. So why does it bother me so much? At least with the paper nearby, there was always the potential that I'd get to it. That I'd be an educated citizen.

It's probably worth pointing out that in the media relations field, I was paid to read, watch, know what was the top story of the day and how to include my client's messages into that narrative. Now, I'm not exactly paid to stay on top of the news. It's much more urgent that I know Brown Bear sees a red bird or that My Friend Rabbit means well or that the elephant is allergic to flowers.

And that's really all the news that's fit to print around here. Which sounds like a happily ever after ending to me.