So I Think I'm Gonna Be a Housewife...

.. at least for a while. I'm going to make up my mind in early to mid-December. Seems that all my friends think I'm insane to go back to work as scheduled in January when you consider these two facts:

1. I was crying virtually every day for a couple of months before I went on LOA and all I could think about was work, even when I wasn't working.
2. Since taking LOA, I have been very happy much of the time. I actually like cooking dinner and walking the dogs and reading and going to the gym (OK, don't really like the gym, but I like having time to go) and just having time to do all the things I don't have time or energy to do when I'm working.

Now, I still have to decide that this is what is best rather than maybe scaling back work to be part-time or just project-based type work; however, when I mention this possiblity to anyone other than my coworkers, everyone seems to think that this is among the worst ideas. They're probably right. Clearly, I don't have the ability to just let go of work and go about my personal life when some sucky thing happens at work.

I just spent the last 30 minutes Googling and reading various blogs and with the term "housewife" in them in some weird need for acceptance on this decision - that maybe I'd find someone else who made this decision. I didn't find the wisdom I was looking for, damn it - I thought Google had all the answers! I did find the following:

1. An article on how to make homemade sanitary pads, so that might come in handy if the budget becomes strained by this decision.
2. Lots of porn comes up when you Google "housewife."
3. SAHM is an actual acronym used to describe the "stay-at-home mom." I guess that would make me a SAHPM: stay-at-home puppy mom.