I had originally wanted to start this blog back in 2018. It was right after my second daughter was born. We were in the thick of parenting 2 kids two and under. Money was tight, time was limited and I was feeling like there was not a lot of resources out there (yet?) for full-time working moms. All of my friends at this point were either staying home with their kids or didn’t have kids yet. I felt like an odd ball. I was relatively new to my job as an engineer, working mostly with men, and had limited vacation time – the next bump being at 5 years of service.
I remember the winter of 2018, I had used all my vacation by Valentines Day due to sick kids (or daycare being closed due to illness). Work was giving me a hard time for constantly calling in and saying we had another fever in the house. My husband did his best to help, but as a small business owner he was not always able to move his work around to be able to stay home. There wasn’t anyone else to cover for him if he wasn’t working, and we needed the income.
At this exact point in time, I had a pile of student loans after finishing my master’s degree. We had bought a house a couple of years prior and were almost done with our leased SUV. We had fallen into the mindset that as a college graduate, an engineer, we could afford all the new things. NO! – What we ended up having was a LOT of debt, a growing family, and limited time off to enjoy any of it. Because of our debt, staying home was not in the financial cards for us. And while I enjoyed my job, I wanted to make sure I was giving my family my best as well. In this season that was full of sickness and work demands I often felt like I was failing at everything.
As a working mom that was also digging out of debt, we were living a very scheduled life – we budgeted both our time and money.
I started setting my alarm for 6 so I could have coffee with my husband. His alarm would go off at 4:30 so he could do bookwork before the rest of the house got up. It was this season that our morning coffee dates was born. What I noticed is that I would wake up excited for that first sip of coffee and to be able to talk with him, to dream and goal set with him.
After work I would pick up our girls and get them settled with toys and activities in the living room before pouring a glass of wine for myself in the kitchen. I would savor that first sip while I started supper prep. Sometimes I didn’t finish the glass of wine, sometimes I did. It wasn’t about the beverage, it was about the sensory shift which was a reminder to me that I needed to pause for a moment and remember that whatever I am going through, there is grace for that.
Grace kept echoing in my mind. I would be in a situation, especially the hard ones, and could “feel” the word grace if that makes sense. I started to really sit with the word on my heart and think about/dream of what the future was going to hold for us. It was during these times that I started coming up with all these creative ideas and stories I could share about grace in parenthood, in marriage, juggling work and home life. I decided that I wanted to start a blog and call it “Sip of Grace”. The blog would be a resource for young, working moms like myself that could build community and let each other know that it was tough, but so wonderful and that everything was going to work out.
Even with the excitement of the idea, I hesitated. I hesitated to spend my limited time and our budgeted money on a blog. Looking for insight, I confided in a good friend and was told that it was a terrible idea. That response was enough to crumble me in that moment. It stopped me in my tracks. I put “Sip of Grace” on my shelf of bad ideas.
We got through that season. We let our leased SUV go and replaced it with a smaller, used SUV. We took some tips from Dave Ramsey’s Financial University and kicked up the intensity at which we were paying off debt. We paid off our multi-six figure debt in 3 years! I could hardly believe it. We set a goal, laid out the steps to get there and stayed focused (while still having a little fun).
Fast forward to today and I still sometimes wish that I could not work, stay home, and focus on raising our children. BUT I also love the work I am doing and the flexibility it allows to be present with my family. I basically manifested my current job and I can’t think of a sweeter gig! My kids love being able to tag along with me to present to big groups or help me with awesome activities and experiments. I am constantly trying to find a work/life balance while keeping mom guilt at bay. I have to admit, it is effort worth putting in!
Over the years, I have realized that the blog is still on my heart. I have thought about it often and had even checked the domain availability a few times since 2018. In the summer of 2023, I finally decided to go ahead and start “Sip of Grace”. My excitement turned to disappointment when I realized the domain was taken. I sat on that for a bit, realizing I had waited too long. I did a few more quick searches and then “Gulp of Grace” popped into my head. I checked and it was available – I can only chalk this up as a God thing!
As I enter in this new season of life with 2 school age kids and an infant, I am spending less time “sipping” anything – cold coffee anyone? My husband and I still do our morning coffee dates, although these days it is with an infant and I find myself taking a quick gulp of coffee before changing a diaper or running to make sure the baby gate is latched. After work is also the same – we walk in the door, unload ALL the things and I start prepping snacks and supper in the kitchen. At the start of supper prep I pour myself a drink. Sometimes it is a glass of wine, sometimes a fun mocktail. Regardless of the beverage, the initial drink tends to be more of a gulp than a sip. I have realized that even today, in my current phase – there is grace for that!
I can’t wait to share my story and do life with you. Thank you for being here.
