@porven I feel like I had plenty of adult interaction when I was on maternity leave. I had time to call my friends and even got lunch a couple times with a friend who was also on leave, something we had not done in years. I like my job but I work for the money- I want to send my kids to college and I want to retire so I have to work. Part of the reason I like my job is because I can sit in a quiet office and my coworkers leave me alone for most of the day.
@porven I’m going through this now. I just had my first in January and I am currently on maternity leave. Before my son was born my career was very important to me. Promotions, title, money..all those things mattered to me and gave me satisfaction. Now that my son is born I could care less. All I want to do is be with him and give him the best life I can. Unfortunately, I will have to go back to work for financial reasons but I look at work in a completely different way now.
@porven No. I am a hermit by choice. The challenge for me with parenting is forcing myself to socialize occasionally for the benefit of my child
I honestly find my 13-month-old a lot more interesting to engage with than 99% of adults…
I have no interest in having a job, much less a career, but my current job is such a great opportunity/good money for few hours that it would be idiotic to quit to SAHM full time.
@porven So currently a SAHM (though I often lurk this sub as i'm planning on going back soon-ish) and yep same here. I left a pretty high role in tech (went back for like 2 months and was like "nope") and I don't miss it at all. I love taking care of the baby, my cooking game has shot up (and it was pretty solid to begin with) and I've been taking real pride in having my home together.
I'm starting to slowly look for part time work and I am honestly kind of dreading it. Work is and always will be a means to an end for me and I don't miss the lack of adult interaction that comes with work at all.
@porven I totally relate! So many friends and colleagues have said they missed adult interaction and adult conversations while on maternity leave, but that’s like a foreign concept to me lol. I looooved my two mat leaves and felt so satisfied being with my kids and being able to focus on them. I didn’t realize just how many work distractions and worries were always in the back of my mind until I was able to fully disconnect while on leave.
@porven Oh, my. I'm a hermit by nature. During COVID I switched to online work-from-home and I love it.
I have to go out of my way, telling myself its good for me, to hang out with others. Oh, I have a few close friends, but they're also hermits. I joined a soccer team with ladies from my church in order to interact more. It's fun, but our Google Chat for work... that's plenty of adult interaction for me.
@porven I dont believe im an introvert, for I do love talking to people and going places. However, being a stay at home mother to 4 kids under 8, I absolutely don't have any desire to go anywhere. I have so much to do around the house and enough interactions with my children that fulfills me right now. I love being home and cooking/cleaning. 50's housewife here and LOVE every day of it. So maybe it's just that you're complete enough in life right now that other interactions with adults just aren't a priority for you. That's how I feel anyway.
@porven I've found that I crave NO interaction. I've spent literally years taking care of everyone in my house: kids (who are now teenagers and generally take care of themselves yet still can't figure out what's for breakfast, lunch or dinner - despite it being written on the fridge), husband (who can't seem to think on his own) and now my mom (who has advanced cancer that's moving into her brain).
Then there's work. I'm a mid-level executive doing the job of a senior-level executive. I spend the vast majority of my day telling everyone else what to do. The absolute last thing I want to do at the end of the day is talk to people - any people. My husband was trying to get me to talk about my fantasies one day and I finally admitted that when I daydream it's usually about someone making me to go to bed. Alone. Really. He was disappointed (I assume he was trying to get me talking about sex), but I was like, "Man, I don't know what to tell you. I'm completely and totally burnt out."
@porven I work with teenagers, so having a break from that, even if it means missing out on most adult interaction, is nice. I’d rather spend time crafting than working or housekeeping, haha, though I do generally enjoy my job. My husband has suggested that we might be able to afford for me to stay at home in a year or two, and I think I’d be fine with that. I’d still manage to get some adult interaction and wouldn’t really miss my job
@porven I can relate, i don’t even talk to my coworkers that much and I have a few friends from highschool that i hang out with sometimes. I also go to the gym and I somewhat talk to people there lol.
@porven I work because I need to financially, but I wish I could stay home. I don't crave daily adult interaction. I did feel fulfilled by being able to do my work and get recognition, but now I am too busy trying to keep my head above water at home and at work to do a great job at either thing. I love the weekends where I am home and have time to get the house caught up and hang with my kids. I crave that far more than I crave interaction with co-workers or job fulfillment. I would love to be able to just focus on the one aspect and do a good job at being a mom and keeping the house nice and my family happy.
@porven For me it depends. Some positions I have held were very good, gave me a lot of scope to think and come up with ideas and had supportive friendly teams. My current team is just toxic and I dont enjoy the work at all.
But in general I agree that I can be very fulfilled in myself, family and close friends. Work satisfaction has not been the same need which once was.
@porven I’m an introvert and a registered nurse. Sometimes the adult interaction is exhausting and on the days I don’t work, I don’t crave time away at all. I don’t want to go out on my days off. Im happy just being around my family
@porven I don’t love work or crave adult interaction, but I also know that being with my kids 24/7 would be exhausting for me. They fight constantly, they talk back, and one of them needs someone to converse with AT ALL TIMES. We’re all happier if we aren’t together all day everyday.
I’m with you on the housekeeping. I always feel better with a clean house, and it’s much harder to maintain a clean house when I’m working 40+ hours of each week. I also wish I had more time for cooking at home.
