This Season will be Different

It all begins again tonight. The Cincinnati Bengals will take the field for the first time of the 2016 season and I am SO excited!! I feel like time goes so slow when there is no football, but then I blink my eyes and we're back at it all over again. Although it's just preseason for a few more weeks, there is nothing better than seeing the orange and black uniforms back out on the field again. I am SO ready for football, although this season? It's going to look just a little bit different for me.

While I should be running around the stadium like a crazy person today, sweating my tail off, dealing with confused season ticket members and just general chaos... I won't be. I'll be sitting at home with my family, in my comfy Bengals attire instead of business clothes. This will be the first season in seven years that I'll be "just a fan" because I've decided to stay home full-time with our little boy.

Maybe I should type that again for some clarification, or maybe just for my own sake. I've decided to stay home full-time. I quit my job. I'm so thankful for the ability and option to stay home with T, but it's definitely not what we had in mind just a couple of months ago so I'm still coming to terms with it all. My boss was incredibly supportive and happy for us but of course sad to let me go- which meant a lot. It's a bittersweet time in my life for sure. I definitely won't miss a lot of crazy/crappy things about my job- but I'm going to miss the people I've shared so much of life with over the span of seven years. 

Last week I officially cleaned out my office and said some really hard good-byes to so many wonderful people. It's tough when you know you're making the right decision but you're letting go of something you also loved. When I started maternity leave the plan was always to come back to work but once Jared and I sat down and really thought about the logistics of it all, we started to doubt our decision. After many long talks, countless prayers and a zillion tears we came to decide that what makes the most sense right now for our family is for me to be at home.

This job was my first real job after college and I never imagined how long I'd stay there or all I'd get to experience as a result of the organization. It's hard to "give up" something I've put countless hours into and something I thought would always be a part of my life. I'm so thankful for my time there and closing this chapter of my life is terrifying yet exciting. So this is my new life adventure! I'm a SAHM for right now and I don't have a clue what life without working a football season is like but I'm ready to find out.