My Year Is Up.

Everett's 1st birthday signifies another event in our lives: the end of my maternity leave. When I moved to Calgary almost 5 years ago, I had no clue that mothers in Canada were given 1 full year of maternity leave in which their job would be held for them and they would receive bi-weekly monetary benefits. This amazing perk of 'being Canadian' was the last thing on my radar as a 26 year old fresh out of graduate school. I can honestly say now that not a day goes by when I am not thankful to the Canadian government for honouring what I consider to be the greatest and most important time in my life. I feel lucky to live in a country that not only encourages healthy family bonding and breastfeeding, but has the sense to back it up and set families up for success by granting a year maternity, paternity or split leaves. I've already shared with you my sentiments on becoming a mother and the massive change I've experienced in the undertaking of this new role. I truly believe that a year was necessary in order for me to become the strong and confident mother that I consider myself to be today.
I have worked hard to become a counsellor, and I am looking forward to returning to my professional life and to continue helping families in  Calgary. I also love being a mom and having the ability to spend my days with Everett, being witness to his ever-changing curiosities and growing abilities. I echo many of my fellow mothers when I say that as much I love my job, I would choose staying home with Everett over anything else. For so many of us this is not an option. I am lucky to be part of an agency that is flexible and accommodating to families and has made space for me to return in a capacity that allows me to continue to spend most of my days with Everett. For this reason alone I will return to work today feeling optimistic, refreshed, fulfilled and motivated. I look forward to sharing with my clients my new perspective on life, the bit of wisdom I've gained through the tough months of early parenthood and some reflections on relationship communication. I do wonder how Ty and I will juggle mealtimes and nighttime solo-parenting, but we have a strong foundation to fall back on - one that took a year to build.