Sunday, September 11, 2011

Juggling Act!

I've had a really busy week this past week and probably could have used another "work" day despite it being a short work week due to the observance of Labor Day.

I'm officially back in the "throws" of working for a "pay check" and started my new job on Wednesday.  It is nothing fancy and pays a little above minimum wage, but the best part of it all is that it's only 20 hours a week, flexible hours and I can work from home.  I don't need a babysitter either!  To that I say SCORE!  I fell into this "position" several years ago when my daughter was a year old.  I worked for close to 20 months and the company and I mutually agreed to separate due to the fact I was needed full-time to be with my son.  I was a good worker and feel blessed that I left on such good terms.  In early July, I emailed my former supervisor and asked if she still hired part-time temporary employees.  She emailed me back and appeared to be eager to have me rejoin her team again.  I was so excited.  With my daughter in school full-time and my son in preschool for 2 1/2 hours three times a week, working fits in my life perfectly now.

Although having this job has made me feel "happy" - I do find that I'm having to re-align myself.  My life has turned into a very large juggling act.  I'm the school bus for my daughter both to and from school. Three days a week I am the school bus for my son to and from preschool.  I need to work 4 hours a day.  I still have to manage the house and put dinner on the table.  I've vowed that I will still exercise 30 minutes every other day if not every day.

I'm finding my days go by very fast now.  I have to embrace every moment because I need every second of the 24 hours I'm given.  But I am "Happy".  I'm hoping that this job will be with me until such time as I can work outside the home when my son is in kindergarten all day.  I have at least 2 years before that day will come.  That is also a ball I have set into motion, networking so that I can eventually find myself a part-time or full-time job using my education and past experience when both the kids are in school all day long.

For now, I'm doing a juggling act - and feel pretty lucky that my husband has agreed to help out with some of the household responsibilities!

2 comments:

  1. Hooray! I'm glad the job is fulfilling needs. Gotta love being a bus driver without the big yellow bus! Happy Juggling! ; )

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  2. After doing the "juggling act" for the majority of the time that all of my kids have been in school I will tell you that it gets easier as they get a little bit older, even if you have more stuff to do (in our case it's sports practices and scouts). I have always been blessed with employers that understand the importance of family and motherhood, and, though I still get stressed at times, it is rewarding to be able to wear the hat of mother and, in my case, therapist (I even don't mind wearing my "mom's taxi" hat as I like to call it most of the time). Finding a balance can be tricky, but as time goes on I have found ways to be more productive AND forgive myself if things don't go as planned. ( Frozen dinners and/or the pizza delivery man are my friends on the days that I forget to defrost the chicken!!)Good luck on this next phase of your life. Just remember to keep the glass half full and breathe!

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