Take Your Daughter To Work Day

I remember hearing about “Take Your Daughter To Work” days in school and always longed to be included. It’s probably up there with “Daddy Daughter Dances” which I also didn’t get to participate in. Maybe it’s the fact that “taking your daughter to a strip club” would be frowned upon at the age of 6, but I never got to go…even when my parents had additional/other jobs. Meh, I turned out okay 👍.

Waylin had her first “take your daughter to work” day at the age of 25 months. I only know this because it was St. Patrick’s Day, which is a special day for me in my history! 12 years ago, I made the BEST decision of my life (minus being lucky enough to bring Waylin into this world). I got a breast reduction at the age of 19! Every single year, I would rejoice about my self-titled “boobiversary” and reminisce about how much my life changed since I had the surgery. Back in 2018, St. Patrick’s Day marked an entire decade of boobiversaries, but it was a different mood/feeling than normal:

TODAY MARKS 10 WHOLE YEARS SINCE I HAD A REDUCTION! Every year I always celebrate this day as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself. This year was a little different. I wasn’t as happy about it, because I was unable to breastfeed my daughter. I felt guilty and felt like a quitter when I had to switch to formula. I thought I had failed her and she had no clue how hard I was trying. I was so set on the idea of breast feeding. I wanted to be that “Mother Earth” image that we portray breastfeeding moms to be. My decision to have a breast reduction seemed so selfish to me now. But, the first moment I gave her formula changed my spiraling mind from entering the dark place that is ppd. I saw how happy she was to finally be eating substance and how happy that made myself. I have learned first hand that #fedisbest, no matter the method. I have a lot of respect for BF moms, because that endeavor is so hard. But I also respect FF moms just as much. We’re all “Mother Earth” in our own right. We’re raising human beings and it’s the hardest job in the entire world. There are a lot of tough days, but then there are moments like these where your baby learns how to do something on their own and it’s an incredible feeling! That smile at the end makes me happy I am who I am. ❤️

Here is the video I attached to my Facebook post that I never got to upload here to my blog:

I smile at myself and the things I write/feel years ago, because I remember feeling so proud and happy in that moment. That last sentence that says, “that smile at the end makes me happy I am who I am.” That is such a powerful statement. Waylin validates me every single day. Who needs Irish luck when you have a little piece of your heart following you around all day? ❤️

Nonetheless, we are still going to wear green no matter how lucky we are…I don’t like being pinched.

Waylin is actually the one who reminded me it was St. Patty’s Day that morning. She has been asking to wear this slightly oversized green A-line dress for dayssss. DAYS, I TELL YOU! She finally got her moment, and she was spinning all over the house watching her skirt fly out underneath her.

I taught her how to say “Irish Kisses” and she does it perfectly!

Waylin had to come with me to work because we received an order that we would begin working from home due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic that was starting. Her daycare was open that day, but we received a message saying that they had several cases of Hand, Foot, Mouth and Impetigo in her class, and she was like the only kid who didn’t have it! I really didn’t have a choice, so she had to come with me for part of the day.

I was nervous about the decision because I really don’t know how supportive my work can be about children since no one else has them in my office. Motherhood is hard to fully understand unless you’ve been in it or through it. And I say that with sincerity and not to make it sound like it’s an exclusive club that some are not allowed to be part of. I text my coworkers in my office and told them I had an interesting surprise for them. I’m sure they thought I was bringing some kind of donut or cupcake since we were naturally running late. 🤣 #sorryguys #surpriseitsakid

I came somewhat prepared with crayons and snacks, but then we got into dry erase markers and allllll the post-it notes at my desk. 😂 Oh yeah, and lots of chair spins! It’s not “Take Your Daughter To Work” Day if you aren’t spinning them in your chair! I left her with my coworkers while I ran up to tell my boss that my daughter was at work with me until Ben could get off work to watch her while I come back into town to pack up my desk to prepare to work from home. When I came back down to my office, I walked in and saw the HR lady in our office and I was like “Oh shit!” 🤣

I really don’t know how I feel about Coronavirus. I really thought it had a lot of media hype and political ties to try to destroy Trump’s re-election by disrupting the economy. There was a lot of misinformation about this disease and I just wasn’t sure how concerned I should be. One of my “worst qualities” that I definitely inherited from my dad is my inclination to be incredibly critical of anyone and everything (and don’t forget those ridiculously high expectations ahhah ugh lol). So, naturally, I’m skeptical of a worldwide pandemic based around a flu bug. But, at the same time, I’m not a medical professional, and if it’s as contagious as they say, I don’t want to be responsible for passing it along to anyone, especially not my loved ones. I’m not personally fearful of getting Coronavirus myself, but I don’t want to see anyone I know and love suffer. So, I guess quarantine is the right thing to do.

It was definitely weird seeing my desk cleared out and watching all of my coworkers doing the same. None of us really know how long this transition will last. I know I feel a little nervous about working from home. I felt like I had to make a decision about Waylin going to daycare from this day forward. There were a lot of policy changes with her daycares and trying to navigate whether or not they are open or even accepting a non-essential worker’s kid. I ultimately decided to keep her home with me. How could I honestly take her to daycare when my own job won’t let us work in our normal environments? They obviously feel that it is important for us to stay home and “shelter in place” (which subsequently, our Governor {idiot} placed an order to officially do so.)

So, now we will have an unknown number of days of “Take Your Daughter To Work Day” from home! This will be very interesting. Stay tuned for updates on my sanity…🍷