Working Before Kids

I know it’s only been three years, but even within six or seven months of being a mother, the “before kids” part of my life seemed like a hazy memory. Perhaps it’s the lack of sleep.
Julia at Working Mommy Wednesday asked how working life was different before kids. I can say it was totally, completely different.
Up until a year ago, I worked in the newspaper industry. I started out as a reporter, working whatever hours I needed, but always plenty of them. For three Christmases in a row, I worked until the evening Christmas eve, and was back at work by Christmas afternoon. Like my fellow reporters, I went out late every weekend, and sometimes a few weeknights as well.
When I became a features editor, my hours were more stable, but even longer. I thought nothing of the fact that I worked a 13-hour day every Wednesday to make sure that my arts magazine left the building OK, and even on the other days rarely only worked 8 hours. It was fun. I loved it.
Then came two weeks of bedrest (worked through it, from home), and the early birth of my daughter. I knew I wanted 12 weeks maternity leave AFTER she came home from the nicu, so I started working from home two days after I got home from the hospital, still recovering from the c-section and visiting Anne Marie several times a day.
When those 12 weeks were up, I knew I couldn’t (and didn’t want to) go back to what I was doing. I told my boss that I wanted to work 30 hours a week, mostly from home. He agreed to it, and I settled into a schedule of playing with Anne Marie during parts of the day, then working feverishly in the late evenings, naptimes and any down-time I could find to get it done.
Now I work a standard, 8-5 work week. Working late is out of the question. I get off work at 5, and the kids’ daycare closes at 5:30. Even if I could work later, though, I wouldn’t. Having kids has made me much more adament about my work-life balance. I work hard at work, but when I’m done, I’m done. I don’t think about it, I don’t worry about it. At 5 p.m., work shuts off, and fun with the kids begins.
I wouldn’t really have it any other way.