Maternity Leave

The idea of Maternity Leave is a fairly new concept to me. When I had my first son, Joshua, I was still in high school and needed to continue my schooling. There was no room for a leave of absence from, well, anything. I finished high school and went on to college, all the while, he was in childcare during the day. Now that I am older and have a career, having a baby and the option of staying home with him for a whole year sounded almost too good to be true. As it turns out, it was, simply because I needed to go back to work early to build up time for another leave with my third baby.
Now that I am on Maternity Leave for what I presume will be a full year, I am not sure I will be able to find it in me to return to work. Having nearly two full years as a stay-at-home mom under my belt is simply a teaser. These little people change so much each day!
It turns out that in Canada, most parents are taking advantage of the opportunity to take time at home with their new babies. I wonder how many of these mothers are tempted to stay home with their children, only to find that financial realities require that they go back to work. I have met a number of women who feel that building a career, or at least continuing to have a social network outside of children is very important. To them I say, "I admire you!" I know what it is like to be a full-time mom, while also having a full-time job. This is not an easy feat. Besides, without mothers in the workforce, I would not have the experiences, memories and opportunities that I have had in the childcare field.