Last year, I left behind the wacky hours as a morning news anchor and embraced stay-at-home motherhood.  I’d been waking up at 2:30 a.m. for almost 10 years, and my husband and three girls were used to having someone else in the house every morning to help get them off to work and school.   Needless to say, this change was a huge transition for all of us.

Past that, I’ve found that I have a lot in common with other moms who have made this decision to quit work, slow down and shoulder the financial sacrifices of one income.   I’ve talked with teachers, skilled professionals and business executives who were successful but, like me, were burning too many candles at too many ends. 

We commiserate about hectic evenings crammed with a quick dinner, baths and homework, not to mention cranky weekends of laundry and household chores.  Heads nod in agreement when I say I felt like I was doing a little bit of everything, but never quite doing anything right.   
   
In fact, there’s a growing trend of college-educated women who are trading in their identity as a successful, working mom just to stay home and raise their children.  Census figures show 54 percent of mothers with a graduate or professional degree no longer work full time.

So, what does this mean?  At least we’re in good company. 

For now, I’m still learning to shrug off the “so what are you doing now?” and the “what do you do during the day?” daily spittle from others.  I keep busy with scattered projects and a few regular writing jobs.  But, I feel obligated to say yes more often, volunteer for more events and do more cooking and cleaning because I don’t have any money to eat out. 

But just when I feel like I’ve jumped from the frying pan into the fire, I get a thank you from one of my kids.  All three of them seem genuinely happy that I’m home.  My husband’s visions of gourmet dinners and matching socks flew out the window after the first week, but even he seems more relaxed knowing that I’m holding down the fort.
 
So, for now, life is good.  I'm doing my very best to appreciate the moment, and not worry about what's down the road.  I'll always want to give my kids more, but I no longer have any doubt that what they really need is me.

Tonya Kerr lives in Round Rock, TX, with her husband and three daughters