Oh man!
I really feel like yesterday was my longest day ever!
There's a lot on at work and one of my team is sick so I needed to go in early. I had myself and both the girls dressed, lunches and bags ready, by 6:20am so all the Mister had to do was their hair and make sure they brushed their teeth, then I raced out the door and was at work by 7:15am. Work was hectic, I barely saw my desk all day. I dashed to pick up the girls before daycare closed then we went out for dinner for my MIL's birthday and didn't get home til 9pm and our guests didn't leave until 10pm.
Organisation is the key to keeping your head above water when life gets chaotic, or like the Scouts say "Be Prepared".
When I decided to go back to work I was offered two jobs and I accepted this one because it was more suitable for my family. It also paid a little more than the other but that wasn't my primary focus... there was another job I considered applying for that paid $160k/yr and was almost EXACTLY my old job but a different commodity (I worked in iron ore/steel and this was in gold) but then I came to my senses when I remembered how BUSY my old job was and how much responsibility there was. The guilt when my daughter was sick or I was sick. Luckily I could work from home a lot BUT there was also a lot of *having to* work from home because minesites operate 24/7 or I was having to negotiate with people in foreign offices operating on different timezones.
I'm lucky that my new job allows me to (for the most part) leave my work behind when I skip out the door at 4:30pm and forget about it all weekend and not feel guilty if I'm away because there are other members of my team who can cover for me. But it still requires organisation to make sure that my work doesn't impact on my family life which is something that is VERY important to me, especially while my children are so small.
And then we have to throw my small biz into the mix ;o)
I like to learn and take inspiration from others so I'm going to start talking to other people who juggle some combination of family responsibility/study/work/small business and share the results here on the blog. Hopefully we'll all find it enlightening!
We all take on so much nowadays and expect so much of ourselves.
Be kind to yourselves if you have a bad day.
Hi Laura, it is a massive juggle isn't it? Work, family, life! I can relate to what you say here about needing a job that works well for your family. Unfortunately, I have to work part time, I would much prefer to be a full time Mama, but financial obligations override that desire, at this point in time. So, we manage it all the best way we know how. It's all we can do as Mama's :o) You sound like one busy Mama Laura. Thanks for commenting on my blog the other day, so pleased you did, as it's led me to your blog. Following along and looking forward to reading about your adventures going forward!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, thanks for coming over.
ReplyDeleteI suppose this is especially relevant to you right now! I hope you find happiness in whichever way you decide. xx