Fifteen Differences between Corporate Lackey Me and Stay-at-Home-Mom Me:

1. Drink more.
2. More relaxed.
3. Cry less.
4. Get outdoors more.
5. Home-cooked food has become the norm. When takeout was the norm, I didn’t feel as energetic, balanced, or in love with my Self ~ turning into a Mom has increased my sense of self worth ~ not in a self-aggrandizing way, but in a self-preserving way. I want to live long.
6. Want to live long, versus interested in living fast…
7. Spend more time alone. Gotta get creative. No excuses for not writing thank-you notes or returning Web purchases that didn’t fit. Except for a baby in my hands 10 hours a day (24 hours minus the 12 hours she sleeps, minus the 2 hours she naps); That slows me up when I don’t have help. My personal errands wait til the babysitter flaps her angel wings and flies over to my house.
8. Have an assistant ~ I certainly did not at Conde Nast, where layoffs sheared the sheep. And the fat. And then the bones.
9. Feel closer with my husband than every before.
10. Drive more. I hadn’t owned a car in 10 years. Now I have the prerequisite yummy (yuppie mummy) Honda CR-V. It’s got a shelf in the way back that makes a perfect changing table. That has paid for itself.
11. Take more photos.
12. Walk barefoot more.
13. Wash my hair less (which is actually healthier, happy coincidence).
14. Miss my sisters and my parents more.
15. Spend less time in front of the computer, though not as much time reading books.

This all comes as a surprise. I was 9 months pregnant and had no idea what to expect around the bend.

Photographed by Jess Levey (http://www.jesslevey.com)