My Story

Being home on maternity leave with my daughter was the best time of my life. We weren’t getting a lot of sleep, so I was finally able to just throw out all of my ridiculously high expectations and be kind to myself. Some days we went out to explore the city, but a lot of times I just sat on the couch all morning listening to her sleep on my chest. We went on walks, cooked good food and completely focused on family.

I didn’t think about the return to work at all, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. After this wonderful blur of maternity leave, I was suddenly thrown back into a full-time job while finishing my master’s degree. I was tired, irritable, and felt like things were never going to get better. I still wince when I think back to our first day of daycare, as the receptionist who I’d met that day held me while I cried.

When my work proposed a change that was going to significantly increase my workload I lost it. I remember sitting in my friend’s office sobbing, telling her I can’t possibly keep up with all this and I feel like I’m not doing a good job at anything, especially motherhood.

And this incredibly kind, intuitive, loving friend said something I never expected… she offered to cook for us.  I normally would have said no, but I was feeling so overwhelmed that I agreed.

So from there on out, my friend brought dinner to us twice per week.  And after a few weeks of this, something magical happened. Everything in my life started to get better. Because Tim and I weren’t stressed about cooking every night, I was able to slow down and enjoy my weeknights with Charlotte. And when I felt like I was spending more time with her, I didn’t feel so guilty about doing something for myself, like going to a yoga class or for a run. I started working out almost everyday and lost the rest of the baby weight.

We started doing fun things on the weekends again. I didn’t dread going to work quite as much. These meals really fed us, physically and spiritually.