Tuesday 2 November 2004

the sun salutation might be a bit challenging



I have my first antenatal yoga class tomorrow evening, and I'm all agog. I absolutely love yoga but haven't done it in ages; I cannot wait to get back into it. I imagine that yoga for pregnancy involves a lot of deep breathing, gentle stretching, and something to do with the pelvic floor. What I always loved best about yoga was the meditation and relaxation aspects of it. Seeing as I've got this newfound tranquility happening lately, along with the yoga, I should slip nicely into deep relaxation. Or I'll fall asleep after the first 20 minutes, which is entirely possible these days.



Paul sorted through our finances and worked out how much we need to shell out to other people every month. I was really pleased and relieved to hear that we could live on one salary for as long as we need to. This is great news - up until this point, I just assumed that I could only afford to take six months off at the most. While I can't imagine never working again, I also can't imagine handing our baby over to someone 5 days a week. At least this way, I can choose to return to work later (i.e. after one year), return part time, become a contractor, or not return to work at all. That last option has a lot of appeal at the moment, I can tell you. This takes a huge load off my mind and I will be eternally grateful that I have a husband who is much, much better with money than I am. It's going to be very strange living off of someone else's salary. I've never done it before and I find the whole concept odd, but I suppose it's going to be a necessity. Paul said that I will still be working full time (and then some), just not at my desk at the office. So in this respect, I'm still earning a living, really.



It's funny, it's hard to think outside of the stereotypes sometimes. For example, while I was saying to Paul that I would hate to have our son in daycare during the months when he'll be changing the most and that I wouldn't want to miss out on anything, he rightly pointed out that only one of us won't be missing out. He'll be at work while I'll be at home for all of the "firsts", which I completely took for granted. Of course there's nothing saying that Pip won't take his first step in the evening or on the weekend when Paul's around, but I never really thought about how most fathers miss out on the important stuff. I think that's going to be hard on him.



I really admire my friend Tony who has begun working from home now that his wife has gone back to teaching (their son is now around 16 months old). How many Dads do that? How many Dads can do that? I think it's very cool. This isn't really an option for Paul because he's a manager and needs to be onsite at least part of the week, but I know he would take the opportunity if he could. So hurray to Tony who I know is thoroughly enjoying this special time with his son.

No comments: