The birthdays are over. The holidays are over. The birthday party 10-days-after-the-birthday is over. Just passed another three day weekend and am starting the year. Finally.
The transition from stay-at-home-mama to working full-time (37.5 hours to be exact) has been relatively smooth on the homefront, making the whole if it bearable. I work early and leave early, beating the worse of the across-town and across-river traffic. I have my Book-on-CD to keep me busy and help me avoid the news (I simply cannot take anymore of this political environment - it is nasty, rude and just stupid) and before I know it I'm opening the door to my....office.
Yeah. That. The office. Exactly 200 square feet. In the basement. Of a church. Oh, there is a window, but it starts at 6 feet up the wall and since it looks into a courtyard, never, ever do we see a ray of sunlight. Before my assistant and I moved things around last week, there was probably barely 25 square feet of walking space - there was that much furniture!! It was, to say the least, claustraphobic. The difference now is pretty startling. Might be livable, even. This is sometimes what you get when you choose to work for nonprofits...
But, it could be worse. I tell myself that every day. An upside is the kindergarten class in the next room. Kinda fun listening to them chat and sing and do work. Makes me feel like I know what Quinn is up to when I'm not around these days.
Quinn is over the moon about his changes. He was moved up to what is essentially the kindergarten class. Only about 9 kids, a teacher he knew from before, and more new stuff to work on. The computer has just the right games, the play kitchen is nicely stocked, and his favorite thing? The shorter rest time. Only half an hour with music is better than two hours of napping, he says. He has managed to fall asleep once a week so far, but he has had to get used to not having a nap every other day. He is happy, comes home with armfuls of art everyday and the teacher told me the other day "he should be in first grade". Yikes.
Erick has had to adjust like the rest of us. Since I am out the door at 6:30 am, he has to get up, get himself ready and then get Quinn ready. This has involved Erick making breakfast for both of them. Quinn is pretty used to a hot breakfast, and we wanted to find a way to make it possible. One thing we realized is that asking a partially awake five year old who is still in bed what he wants for breakfast usually resulted in whining and annoyance all around.
So, being a big believer in using the right tool, we developed a system for taking care of the breakfast thing the night before. We made a menu, of sorts, which is posted on the fridge. After dinner Quinn circles what he wants (pancakes, french toast, cinnamon toast, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, etc.) and then Erick knows what is on the menu for the following day. No frustrated overtired child, no frustrated Daddy. Is working out great.
I wish I could say that going back to work has been all I dreamed it was going to be. It hasn't been, but my expectations weren't that high to begin with. I wanted a job that would fit into my life, not the other way 'round. I wanted flexibility, challenge and the potential for growth. And I didn't want to supervise anyone. So, in that respect, all is good.
2 comments:
You guys are amazing parents, which might just be why Quinn "should be in the first grade." Good to hear you're making the office work for you ... if you need help knocking out space for daylight windows, let me know. ;) Just kidding. I have no idea how to do that.
Sounds like it's all going well - yay for that! I hate to tell you this, but the comment about Q being ready for 1st grade, not such a shocker to those of us who know the little smarty-pants. =) I'm tellin' ya, one day I'm going to be saying "I knew that kid way back when...." I love when I can do that.
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