I have recently felt the need to go back to work. Do we really need the money? No? Would extra money be nice? Of course! I’ve got broken couches, old carpet and a kitchen that is falling apart. But I’ve been a stay at home Mom now for the last 15 years. I will be the first person to admit that being a stay at home Mom is not easy. The hours stink, the pay is even worse and the people you work with are little tyrants! I do love my husband and children (usually) but I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s become a comfort zone.
When I left the work field to become a mommy, I was in human resources working with 25,000 employees helping them with their payroll and benefit issues. I felt I was good at it. I knew benefits quite well, I knew how to handle grumpy account reps at insurance companies, I had lots of friends and made pretty good money. Now that it is time to go back to work I felt inspired to take a part time, night job cleaning. Yes, you heard right, cleaning. Yes, I know, I hate cleaning! But the thought wouldn’t leave me that I should drag myself out at night and clean. At first my pride was in the way asking why would I “lower” myself to go clean when I had much better skills. My internal debate continued on until I reminded myself that I have become an expert at cleaning these last 15 years and other than doing laundry, cooking or child care, what else had I qualified myself for? I haven’t keep up in the world of human resources, I haven’t kept in close contact with all of the people who I worked with. I hadn’t finished my degree. So yes, I applied for and received a job cleaning.
Before I started working I kept second guessing my choice. I felt as though I was abandoning my post at home, even though my kids wouldn’t even really notice me missing (night job, remember?) I spent my last weekend before I started working in a frenzied panic. I made three batches of basil pesto to freeze, two batches of refrigerator pickles (they were disgusting by the way and had to be tossed…along with the batch I made after it…) two loaves of banana bread, 35 breakfast burritos and worked my tail off to try to clean my house and do laundry. Did it make me less anxious? Nope.
First day of work arrived and my husband was out of town. I was left with three children looking at me like I had lost my mind. I felt like it was the first day of school all over again. Would I find the right places to go? Would I make friends? Could I do the work? Would I survive without sleep? My JellyBean was getting really annoyed at me and I’m sure felt relieved once I got in my car and left.
Has it been super easy? Nope. Are we adjusting? Mostly. Do I still over compensate all day long and then drag my feet at work? You betcha! I am making so much money that it makes cleaning urinals easier? Not even a little. Am I learning new things about myself and making new friends? Heck ya! So here’s to all of us Moms, working or stay at home! (You can’t see it, but I’m toasting you with my Dr. Pepper right now!) Now I’m off to take a little nap…
Have you gone over to my book reviews or my recipe page yet? Go check them out!
When I left the work field to become a mommy, I was in human resources working with 25,000 employees helping them with their payroll and benefit issues. I felt I was good at it. I knew benefits quite well, I knew how to handle grumpy account reps at insurance companies, I had lots of friends and made pretty good money. Now that it is time to go back to work I felt inspired to take a part time, night job cleaning. Yes, you heard right, cleaning. Yes, I know, I hate cleaning! But the thought wouldn’t leave me that I should drag myself out at night and clean. At first my pride was in the way asking why would I “lower” myself to go clean when I had much better skills. My internal debate continued on until I reminded myself that I have become an expert at cleaning these last 15 years and other than doing laundry, cooking or child care, what else had I qualified myself for? I haven’t keep up in the world of human resources, I haven’t kept in close contact with all of the people who I worked with. I hadn’t finished my degree. So yes, I applied for and received a job cleaning.
Before I started working I kept second guessing my choice. I felt as though I was abandoning my post at home, even though my kids wouldn’t even really notice me missing (night job, remember?) I spent my last weekend before I started working in a frenzied panic. I made three batches of basil pesto to freeze, two batches of refrigerator pickles (they were disgusting by the way and had to be tossed…along with the batch I made after it…) two loaves of banana bread, 35 breakfast burritos and worked my tail off to try to clean my house and do laundry. Did it make me less anxious? Nope.
First day of work arrived and my husband was out of town. I was left with three children looking at me like I had lost my mind. I felt like it was the first day of school all over again. Would I find the right places to go? Would I make friends? Could I do the work? Would I survive without sleep? My JellyBean was getting really annoyed at me and I’m sure felt relieved once I got in my car and left.
Has it been super easy? Nope. Are we adjusting? Mostly. Do I still over compensate all day long and then drag my feet at work? You betcha! I am making so much money that it makes cleaning urinals easier? Not even a little. Am I learning new things about myself and making new friends? Heck ya! So here’s to all of us Moms, working or stay at home! (You can’t see it, but I’m toasting you with my Dr. Pepper right now!) Now I’m off to take a little nap…
Have you gone over to my book reviews or my recipe page yet? Go check them out!