Someone please pass a tissue?
May 19, 2009 by Shannon
I am a crybaby.
There. I said it. When something sets me off, the waterworks just don’t stop. I don’t really get the big, heaving sobs. My tear ducts just suddenly morph into mini waterfalls.
So just thinking about how I’m going to say goodbye to my friends and co-workers on Wednesday — let alone the on-air goodbye to viewers — has me welling up already. Man, I should have bought up some Kleenex stock last week.
On Monday, I got a hint of things to come during a talk with my boss. He said some really nice things about how I’ll be missed in the newsroom and how I could easily return to the business later on, if I so choose. Then he told me my skills and abilities will not go away once I leave the station, and my tear ducts unleashed.
What a relief to hear someone say those words — your skills and abilities will not go away. In my heart, I know I’m no less talented for choosing to stay home with my son. But that doesn’t mean a tiny little voice in my head isn’t there trying to convince me otherwise. I’ve struggled with this for weeks now, ever since I decided it was time to step out of the work force. As I tried to explain to my boss (through a wad of tissues), I fear that I might devolve into some zombie version of my former working self. But whether he knows it or not, my boss said exactly the right thing at the right time to help quiet that fear.
So I’m feeling better regarding that issue, but I’m sure my tear ducts will still find plenty of reasons to embarrass me during the next couple of days. So I’m mentally preparing myself for lots more tears, tissues, and the ultimate embarrassment — crying on-air. People tell me it’s okay if I cry. I just hope I can talk.
Comments (9)
I’m so excited for you and the future that will surely follow. The joy you’ll feel will be tempered by the sadness you feel at walking away from one thing you love to do something else you love more. But that sadness and feeling of loss will soon be replaced, and you’ll be glad you made this choice.
You already know that I’m with you 100%. Here for you, pulling for you, and excited for you.
Thank you for setting this example for me and for millions of women who struggle with the same choice. Even a year after leaving my profession I still need to hear the words your boss said. There is a season for everything. It’s good to recognize that and embrace it even when it’s difficult.
Here’s to you, Anchor Mommy!!!
Oh Shannon, I am crying watching your debut Momcast it’s just so great! (I had to pause it a couple of times as my own little angel was also throwing a fit) This project is wonderful!!
I want to say too, that I know where you’re coming from being nervous about leaving your job. I too struggled at first at the transition to staying at home. From the age of 14 I always had a job and supported myself, even during college, and this was something I was very proud of. When I left work, I felt guilty. Guilty that I now made my own schedule and didn’t have to follow orders. I worried about what the title “stay-at-home-Mom” said to others about me. What I soon found out was how much work it really is to be a 24/7 Mommy/Wife/Happy Home-maker! I definitely do not “make my own hours”! It is the hardest thing I have ever done, and the most fulfilling job I can imagine.
A Mom like you Shannon, who takes this job very seriously, and throws herself into it whole-heartedly and yet with a great sense of humor, makes me proud to be in this “workforce”. I am so excited for you, and for all of us who will benefit from your site!
Enjoy your new endeavors AnchorMommy and thank you!!
I know how you feel. It is really hard to walk voluntarily away from something that has so much of your identity tied to it. I felt like that when I left the university, and than again when I stepped out of the working world entirely last fall.
It is really weird. But the good news is it isn’t so weird that you’ll miss it.
The site is GREAT! I can’t wait to read more.
Great blog, I love it, Anchor Mommy! I want you to know that your decision to leave the career you love (at least for the time being) is going to be a decision you will not regret, ever. Enjoy every minute you have with your child, because they grow up way too fast… these are the times to really enjoy, you know? I recently returned to work after a one year mat leave, and it was hard to go back, but my children are in good hands - my husband looks after them along with my mom, grandmother and mother-in-law.
I also had a career in tv and radio - I loved the fast-paced of the newsroom - no job is quite as exciting, you know? But raising a family with the hours I was working was not gong to work… so I found a job in the gov’t where I can at least write/edit, get paid more, and have a lot of flexibility with hours and days off… it’s never easy, deciding what to do, but it sounds like you made the best choice for you!
Oh my God… I just watched your video. I was laughing out loud, for real. Almost woke up my baby! Thank you for showing that to the world. I am SO THANKFUL that my children are not the onliy ones who act like that! Because they do act like that. Like, on a daily basis!
Dear AnchorMommy:
I can’t believe you cry over small things like walking away from your comfort zone to leap into a new “world”. Come on! Are you a wuss? Geez, get a grip!
Okay . . . you know I’m kidding. Perhaps it runs in the genes ’cause I am making a crying fool of myself reading this incredible website for the first time while riding the train from NYC back home to central PA (bring back any memories?). I can clearly see what a terrific idea this website is and I know you will be very successful. If only something like this existed when your were younger . . . you might have had a chance of growing up to become a normal person! Give a hug to my grandson. Love, Dad
I was waiting for the dam to break at the end of the newscast, but it didn’t happen! You were a little teary though and that’s understandable. You let the dam “crack” a little when you talked with Kelly. Got most of it over then.
Hmm…knowing how you cry, and how I cry, and how we can make each other cry, perhaps it’s best that I wasn’t there….
I know your skills and abilities will only flourish as you branch into anchormommy!
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