A working mom

I doubt anyone ever checks this blog since it has been so long since I have posted. Briefly stated the combination of summertime (read many more hours of childcare) and starting a new job was incredibly overwhelming. I still feel like I am only half aware of all I should be keeping tabs on. But school started this week and I am hoping to get back to some sort of normalcy. I make no promises about blogging, but figured I could take a few moments to make an update.

In July I started a new job as director of Christian education for a small church in northern VA. I work 20 hours a week, some at the church, some at home. This required me to change, well, quite a bit. I had to scrap the plans I had for my kids for this school year and go from a co-operative preschool to an inclusion child care center. This caused me to question myself several times. I think that the decision DH and I made was right in the end but time will tell. C will be at the center two whole days a week while Q will be there two mornings a week after which he will go to his special ed preschool for the afternoon. I had to buy a number of new clothes since I had thrown out most of my old work clothes. They either no longer fit or are way out of fashion. I had to revamp my whole schedule to carve out 20 hours for work each week. DH and I have had to share a lot more responsibility around the house and with the kids. Finally, it is now imperative that I look at my calendar more often and schedule things very carefully.

So far it has been wonderful. The thing I like the least is teaching Sunday school and even that has many wonderful moments. It would probably be easier if I didn't have my own kids in class (kids are never as good with you as they are with someone else) but it works none the less. The hardest thing is trying to schedule things since I only have four Sundays off a year. That goes very fast. The adult conversation and intellectual stimulation has been a godsend. I feel like I am going in the right direction. It is clear to me now that the church is my life. I cannot escape it, though I have been trying to for years.

So how is it being a working mom? Hard and yet easier too. I am so glad that I was there for my children's infancy and toddlerhood. But they are old enough now to spend a little more time away from me and I think that's good for both of us. It helps that I'm only gone 2 1/2 days a week. For half the week I still get to be a stay at home mom. So it's kind of the best of both worlds. I find I have more patience when I get some time away and some adult conversation. I won't lie and say I didn't spend a major portion of the day worrying about C and Q and wondering if they were okay and happy. But it felt good to read and talk and think without anyone interrupting me. This is still all new to me and I'm sure there will be days when it all seems insane. But for now, it works.

Of course so far it works without time consuming things like blogging, but we'll get a handle on that soon. Hope you all enjoyed your summer. Now we'll freefall until Christmas. Ah, how I love the Fall.