Life in phases: I quit my job when I couldn't cope with the challenges that come with being a mother.

Motherhood is really a beautiful experience, even though it has its own challenges. Lots of moms cope with office work and parenting and still find balance doing both. It's something very possible, but in my own case, there were lots of factors beyond my control that made me quit my beautiful job, which I enjoyed doing.

My days in the office

I was a working-class mom for five years, and I have been a mom for the past eight years. So for the past three years, I have been a stay-at-home mom, even though I never planned for it. But life happened, and I accepted my fate with a good heart. It is really a sacrifice that comes with being a mom.

Right from the time I was dating my husband, I made him know that nothing would stop me from pursuing my career, not even my children, as I would plan for someone to take care of them while I kept pursuing my career. I saw the way he is too emotional with children around him, and as a bachelor, he wouldn't leave a scratch on any child close to him. I sensed that he might be the type to want me to stay at home to care for his kids when we have one and may not allow me to work. This observation made me want to let him know how much I wouldn't want to answer the name stay-at-home mom, but then reality came knocking, and no one should tell me to prioritize my kids and not work when that was the best option I could take.

I worked as an administrative/office assistant in one private oil and gas firm here in Lagos State, Nigeria. I really had a great work experience with my colleagues and my boss, but after some time, my older son started having health challenges from one case to another. This kept happening so consistently to the point that I couldn't work for one week without taking permission to miss work. Most times, my son's health challenge comes as an emergency, and I wouldn't even find time to inform my boss about my absence from work. However, my position in the company is a sensitive one that requires my attention all the time.
My boss is an understanding man, but within me, I feel that I am already cheating the system. Sometimes, I spend 3 to 5 days in the hospital with my son when his health demands that he get admitted. There was a period when my son was admitted to the hospital for 15 days. All this while I was still absent from work, and yet I received my full salary. Other people, including my boss, were doing my supposed job. Many times, the doctor gave us appointments for checkups, and I couldn't help but keep taking permission from work. My boss at the time complained but didn't dismiss me from the job, but I knew that I wasn't contributing any longer to the growth of the company. I felt unfulfilled. I loved my job and wouldn't give anything other than my best, but then the health of my son surfaced, and I couldn't find balance. I gave my son my utmost attention to make sure that he was safe while my job was suffering.

My kids and I

At a point, my husband sat me down and advised that I quit the job and attend to my kids until my older son grew past the health challenges he had been facing. It was terrible the day my son's school called me about my son and needed my attention urgently for his health issue. It happened that the job took me to a long distance that day, but as God may have it, the school took over the stress and rushed him to the hospital before my husband and I arrived. What's then the need for being in the office with divided attention? I didn't have peace of mind from then on. Any time I receive a call from my son's school, my heart skips, even when the call is just for the ordinary passing of information. Well, I listened to my husband and resigned from the job, although it was a bit of a difficult decision for me.

Today, I am happy that I did. I had more time to attend to my sick child, and he has been improving since then. It's been a really stressful experience with him, but my decision was all good considering how far it has been since then.

Ten months after I resigned from the job due to the reasons I explained above, I found Hive. Wow, I am glad I did. It's been almost two years here, being a stay-at-home mom and a full-time hiver. I don't think there is an establishment that would have tolerated the number of times I would have missed work if I had remained a working-class mom, considering the number of hospital visits with my sick child since then. It's been uncountable visits, but I'm glad I have time to attend to him while still earning online. It's been a great improvement with him, and I feel happy now with my decision. It's one of the sacrifices of being a mother. However,I am grateful that even as a stay-at-home mom, I found hive and could support my husband financially. Hopefully, I will go back to pursuing my career when my children reach a certain age.

Thanks for reading through 🤗.

Please note that the pictures are mine.