Back in April, one of the pivotal moments that made me decide to leave the startup was a simple thought I had during one of my long commutes from dropping off my son at preschool to a meeting at the Center for Innovation.

I was thinking, boy am I working hard!

I’d managed to carve out 17 hours a week to work on the startup on top of being a mom and running my part time harp teaching studio. It was a feat. A real feat.

Yes, it was not enough. But it was a feat that I carved out 17 hours in my week from NOWHERE.

And that’s when it hit me. Why couldn’t I just bring that kind of energy and dedication to raising my children? I felt a strong pull during the entire startup experience to be with them, and the thought of putting that much positive creative energy into their lives, rather than into a company, was dreamy, wonderful, amazing.

Now that I am on the other side of the fence, I know I made the right choice. I really do love being with my family and spending this time with them. Yes, it is difficult at times because raising children is difficult and yes, I worry that I am not pulling in a salary at this time and wonder what I will do when I decided again that it is time to work outside of the home.

But I suppose I have a better sense of reality about my place in the world. I feel more confident about my current role as stay at home mom because of this whole experience. I am certain that I am doing what I love and I feel more re-energized than ever before to tackle the day to day challenges. I chose to tackle cultivating a family life in my way, to think about how to run a good home and raise upstanding adults.

I am grateful for the lessons the startup brought to my life and I am looking forward to living more fully, to my best ability, in line with my values and passions.

Thanks everyone for reading about these lessons.

I wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2013.

Lorna