You sound burnt out. Before making any decisions, you need to just take a week off for yourself. One week vacation, keep the kids in childcare, and just rest. You’ll be clearer headed.

Can you make a change that is less drastic?
Hire a personal chef?
Buy a peloton?
Or even Just a meal box service and a small personal gym and Beach body?
Sometimes just hiring a babysitter to do the pickups and drop-offs can make a huge difference.

Yes OP, do take a break. You need it. Your health and well being is more important
then one year of income. At one point you will look back and be glad you did
because sometimes what you loose is more then the income can make up for.

Your kids are 5 and 2... If you become a SAHM don’t overestimate the time you’ll have to work out and get things done. Self care can be even harder to schedule when you’re home with kids all day.

This post is sad. You’re killing yourself slowly so that you can add more numbers to your bank account.

You mean like the rest of the developed world does?

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I cannot believe what I read here. Women wanting to throw away their careers so they can...catch up on laundry and dishes? Organize a closet of paperwork? Ladies, COME ON! Put aside a few thousand dollars a year and hire someone. There are plenty of morning housekeepers who can keep the house under control. And for those papers- hire an organizer. Recognize that 1) you cannot do it all yourself and 2) just bc you cannot do it all yourself you don’t have to quit. Hire someone. Hire more help than you think you need.

The papers etc are just a symptom of a larger issue, which is stress and near burnout. A lot of us can relate, OP. My kids are the same age. I would love to take a year off too. Last year's government shutdown was a wonderful month of recharging for me. At the same time, though, I love my job, and we couldn't afford it anyway if one of us were to quit.

Perhaps you can make some time for yourself without going full sabbatical. It's hard to see how extra hours can be squeezed out of the week but if you are close to burnout and the alternative is to quit, perhaps you can find a way. And there is nothing wrong with staying home either if it's what you truly want.

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I cannot believe what I read here. Women wanting to throw away their careers so they can...catch up on laundry and dishes? Organize a closet of paperwork? Ladies, COME ON! Put aside a few thousand dollars a year and hire someone. There are plenty of morning housekeepers who can keep the house under control. And for those papers- hire an organizer. Recognize that 1) you cannot do it all yourself and 2) just bc you cannot do it all yourself you don’t have to quit. Hire someone. Hire more help than you think you need.

Did you read the post? She has health issues as well. Your identity is wrapped up in your career, which will not matter when you are 6 feet under. Spending that time with your kids and regaining your health is far more important.

Sometimes I cannot believe what I read here. Women wanting to throw away their careers so they can...catch up on laundry and dishes? Organize a closet of paperwork? Ladies, COME ON! Put aside a few thousand dollars a year and hire someone. There are plenty of morning housekeepers who can keep the house under control. And for those papers- hire an organizer. Recognize that 1) you cannot do it all yourself and 2) just bc you cannot do it all yourself you don’t have to quit. Hire someone. Hire more help than you think you need.

Would DH’s job cover health insurance for the family? That’s usually a big cost if not working. If you get health coverage through his job then it sounds you should be able to swing it financially. Also try for part time if possible. Working 3 days a week would give you a lot of breathing room.

Best of luck especially with your health.

Well, same. I would love a year off -- like a sabbatical. Just time to recharge and reorganize and reset. There are so many things to do in my household that never get done because we're too busy keeping up with the day-to-day and too tired to do more -- like a closet full of stuff? papers? that could be reorganized and gone through.

Vacations don't feel like that much of a break because still have to check and respond to email.

Of course this sabbatical is a pipe-dream, would never happen in my industry.

You absolutely should. Sometimes I think we over exaggerate the difficulty to get back into the workforce after a short (1-2 year) break. I myself wish I had taken a break during the early years.

Why can't you? You own your home. You can very comfortably live off of $120 if you have no rent or mortgage. Or at least go part-time. Your health and sanity is more important than money.

I am sorry to hear that. Would you and DH be comfortable with you being a SAHM if you left and couldn’t get back in? Your kids are still small? Any flexibility to negotiate 50% time?

I'm feeling so burned out from parenting, work, and everything else that life entails. I used to run my own business, but two years ago I made a change and went back to the corporate world, on a new(ish) career track. I love my job, and I feel like taking even a 1-year break would make re-entry very difficult since I'm on this new track. Also, if my current company meets its growth goals, it will be an amazing opportunity for my career.

However, in the past two years I have gained a ton of weight (less time/flexibility to work out and cook, which exacerbates a medical condition I have that makes me gain weight). I just really want to take a year off and get my shit together.

I make 95k and DH makes 140k. We own our home, no mortgage. Kids are 5 and 2.

I just need a break.