Thursday, March 25, 2010

Transition

So big changes are going on in the cranberry blog household, we now have two income earners!  It's not just me anymore!

What's happened so far is that I have been helping our two wake up, get ready and go to day care.  And they're still going to pre-school - I am spending some time working from home to take them to school and bring them home. I feel fortunate that I can make the changes and adjustments to my work so they can continue at the pre-school they've gone to for three years now. 

I have some thoughts about this endeavor.  I always knew it logically, from talking to my mom/parent friends who work, but now it's even more obvious.  Because even if your child is in full time day care, there is still a ton of work to be done.  Getting kids dressed, out the door, remembering snacks or treats and lunches - it's not a thoughtless process. And we're not a military-like family, I refuse to order people around and yell. 

I am not diminishing the work done with a child full time during the day.  That, too is a lot of work. 

This morning, in particular, I was happy that my kids were able to get out of bed without too much fuss.  I am savoring the little victories.  I know that this is a transition for them, too.  And they are adjusting.  They're enjoying hanging out with kids their age and playing with new toys. 

I have always felt like I had two full time jobs as a parent.  I still do.

I also know that this process was bound to start at some point (the kids start kindergarten in the fall) and that there are/were a lot of different options for our family. It's just putting the plans into practice.

3 comments:

Freckle Face Girl said...

It is tough! I remember when I had to take Lexi to daycare. Lots of planning & encouragement on parents part.

I am happy for you though. Hopefully, this will take some pressure off of you. I was also a main bread-winner for part of my marriage & it can be a little stressful. I guess there are stressful parts of all the roles we must play.

jana said...

We just became a 2-breadwinner family after ~18 yrs of my being at home and working PT or going to school. It's really really strange in many ways (and a bit tough to keep everything organized). But I am happier now than I've been in a very long time. I mentioned this to a not-LDS friend and she told me that most of her female friends have been happier working than staying home--that is so different from what I heard at church for so many years!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I somehow lost your blog for a while and have just started playing catch-up. Enjoy the balancing act of work, family and fun. It is hard work but what part of parenting isn't hard work? I have just started back full time and am starting to find myself again.