Let’s get over the stay-at-home mom moniker right now. I’m a parent who is part of a one-income family with numerous kids.  We’re OINKs. After working more than half my life for the Federal government (I was 16 when I entered-on-duty as a summer-time clerk; you do the math) I told my bosses that I was leaving in order to focus on my family. Wanting to chronicle my transition from woman-with-a-career to woman-who-put-her-career-on-hold (if not killed it entirely), as well as to make myself stay in touch with the outside world, I overcame my fear of technology and started this blog.

OINKtales went “live” with the following post on May 27, 2009, with the help of my tech-savvy husband, Brendan.

An Act of “Reasoned Madness”

I quit my job.

It’s true. I walked away from my flexible, pays good money, takes me cool places job that I like very much. As my mother said once and thought repeatedly: What makes a person give up her good government job in a failing economy ON PURPOSE?

Clearly the answer is: I’m crazy. Totally bonkers.

But even so, I gave my decision a lot of thought (mostly while consuming alcoholic beverages and driving my car–not at the same time, mind you). I have three kids. I am overwhelmed with love for them and by the little details of their lives, my husband’s life, our lives together. My life is so intertwined with theirs that I am less aware of “it” and the details of “me” than I used to be. And I am a self-centered person. I was going to say that I am a little self-centered but when one is self-centered, it isn’t a half-way kind of thing.

All parents make choices, big and small, every day. This blog is about one woman’s choices. This is my story.