Motherwork
I found out I was pregnant with Charlie at an inopportune time for our family financially. My husband had not been working full time or with benefits for a couple of years, so my income had been our main source; right before the baby was born, my husband, fortunately, went back to work for a company in a sales position but was making significantly less than he had been and a 1/3 of what I was making.
We didn't know what we were going to do, as money was tight, our mortgage was large, and our monthly expenses weren't going to decrease anytime soon. Adding the cost of childcare to those expense made them seem insurmountable.
Luckily, my company allows you to move to a part time schedule, if your manager says it is OK; I lucked out because the company actually started looking for people in the firm to work part time or take sabbaticals last year, to save the firm money. We decided that I would work part time in the office and from home so I could be with Charlie a few days and then on the days I need to go into the office, my husband tries to work from home or my mom watches Charlie, to save us childcare costs.
I used to really enjoy my work but now that I'm a mother and have other responsibilities, I find that my work doesn't acknowledge or value them as I do. There are days when I can not wait until I can quit work one day, as even with a partial paycheck (my salary is 3/5 what it was, since I work 3 days instead of 5), many people still expect you to work full time, every day. Also from what I hear, apparently when you have proven that you are good at your job and a hard worker, they will then give you the most demanding work and put you on the hardest courses, knowing you will kill yourself to make get the job done. For those reasons, I would rather be home with my child full time so he'll benefit from the fruits of my labor.
On the other hand, I do kind of enjoy being out of the house a few days a week. I enjoy being around adults, particularly the friends that I work with and I enjoy the few moments during my work day that I get to sit with them and have lunch. Working out of the home provides me a bit of a break and is a good balance. Of course, I feel this way because we are fortunate to have free babysitting in the form of my mom. I think I would feel way different if we had to deal with the burden of paid childcare.
I completey understand the struggle of juggling both children and a demanding job. That's great that you've been able to go part time but I agree that even that can be extremely difficult. There are lots of benefits to working as a mom - sometimes I think it makes me a better mom to my son as I have so much mental challenge in my day however I am first and foremost a mother and that has to come before anything. Even if it means a drop in my performance to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteNice to be able to relate.
It is interesting that those who work harder, get more of the load. I see how that can be true and in some ways is completely logical. I think it just means that more people have to put in better effort so we can all take on a similar workload instead of having an imbalance.
ReplyDeleteHere's to teaching all kids to have a good work ethic!
It sounds like you are finding a good balance between work and parenting. It is not an easy thing to juggle, for sure, but it sounds like you are doing it well.
ReplyDeleteWorking part-time is ideal. At least, as long as I like the job. I feel it gives me exposure to things outside of my home but still allows me to focus on my family. It is the perfect balance (for me).
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