Working 9 to 5

It was the first day of school in Republic and I was called in to substitute in the transitional kindergarten classroom. This is a class for kids not quite ready for the classroom due to a special need. I was so excited and it was a fantastic day! I have to say I'm extremely tired and ready to go to bed at 8:00 p.m. I was up by 5:30 this morning and that is the first time I've gotten up that early (and stayed up) since before Emie was born. We've all been sleeping in until at least 7 or 7:30 and I had to be at the school this morning by 7:30! What a change of pace for me! The kids did great this morning even though I had to wake them both up by 6:30. They both got to stay with Grandma so I didn't have to worry about them.
I'm even more excited now about going back to school to get certified to teach. I thought I wanted to teach middle school but I had so much fun with the little one's today that now I'm not sure. It'll be good to sub for a variety of grades so I can find what I think is the best fit for me.
I do have to say I had some mommy guilt today. It was kinda nice to be away from my own kids and to be working again, at the same time I kept wondering what the kids were doing and I missed them both like crazy. When I went to bed last night I just happened to turn on Oprah and it was this big debate between working and stay-at-home moms. These women were really going after each other about which choice was the better one. I have to say that I was angry more than once over comments from both sides of the issue. I feel so fortunate to have been able to stay home these past 7 months with my children, but I also feel like I have a lot to contribute in a workplace. What I don't understand is why women can't just support each other and try and offer encouragement no matter what individual choices we make. I have friends who stay home and I have friends who work and none of us think the other is making a bad choice. We all are willing to help each other out however we can and we try to be good friends to each other. Women need to start building networks to build each other up, not slap each other in the face because we do things differently. I don't know a single dad who judges other dads the way moms do.