Working Mama

Well, the newest chapter in my life has begun: I officially started work at SUNY Stony Brook today. No more SAHM here. (That's "stay at home mom" for those of you who don't know Urban Baby discussion board language). (Oh, and SUNY is the State University of New York). I've joined the ranks of mothers who bring their kids to school in decent shoes and wearing make-up, and then march off to the office, shop, job site, studio.

What an enormous change! Wearing make-up - at 8 AM! I'm a woman who walked my kids to the end of the driveway to put them on the bus, in her pajamas! It had gotten so that I actually drove - 4 miles away - to my son's school to drop him off, again, in my pajamas!

So now I have to dress well, leave the house promptly and have the kids do a lot more for themselves. I can't direct them through every step of dressing and readying for school. Jack has to take the bus - even the early bus, which comes at 6:55. No more rides from mommy. And everyone has to pitch in with breakfast dishes and feeding the cat.

It's too early to comment on the job itself. My first day started with no phone line, no email address and a desk piled high with piles of... I don't know what because I don't now what anything is. I even managed to spill a little coffee on my mouse pad. No one bothered me, though. I felt a little like George Costanza when he got that new job and had to pretend to be working on "The Pensky File." I kept shuffling papers around and looking busy, so in case anyone did stop in, it wouldn't look too bad. (OK, I'm exaggerating, but not by much).

I chalked it up to typical first day trials and left my office with a smile on my face.

Wait, where did I leave?

My Office.

That's what I thought I'd said. That feels pretty cool.