You may (or may not?) have noticed that last week was a little slow around here. Okay, really slow. Not a single post. It’s very unlike me and, although it seems silly, I felt a little bad about it. But you see, we’re in a bit of a transition right now. I’m in a bit of a transition now…
I started back to work two weeks ago and I’m slowly adjusting to wearing something other than yoga pants on a daily basis. It’s hard, folks. Believe me. But the beauty of going back to work is my newly invented part-time schedule. It’s a schedule I had asked for and was denied nearly 3 years ago when I returned back to work after Hazeline was born. Because if it’s one thing that I’ve learned after 10 years practicing law, it’s that no one wants to hire a part time attorney. It’s all or nothing in this business (unless, of course, you have your own firm which I don’t have the freedom to do right now).
But, due to a variety of factors, my bosses were willing to consider it this time. One of them is pretty sure it’s not going to work out and it came with a pay cut that’s going to leave a sizable dent in our budget, but they did agree. So instead of working a full week, I now spend 3 days in the office trying to find a way to fit 5 days worth of work in. For the first time in a long time, I’m insanely busy at work. And I kind of really like it. I don’t know that it’s a long-term solution, and as a long-term kinda girl (especially when it comes to big things like employment) that’s hard for me, but part-time is working…for now, at least. So instead of looking at the drawbacks I’ve decided to be grateful. Grateful for a little extra time with my kids. Grateful to have time to run my errands (and even grocery shop during the week!). Grateful for a little extra time to spend with my husband. Now if I could only talk my bosses into allowing yoga pants…
As much as you’d think that a part time work schedule would lead to more blogging – because that would make sense – that hasn’t been the case at all. My days off are rarely spent at home. Instead, I find myself in the car more than anything else, running from location to location trying to get everything done while the girls are in school. Sometimes I take the baby with me, sometimes he goes to daycare too. It just depends what’s on the agenda for the day. I’m honestly not sure if I’m busier when I’m at work or on my days “off”. But not having to report to an office 5 days a week has also left room for fun things, too – lunch with friends, seeing Greenleigh participate in school events, and, just yesterday, I was able to spend the day at a blogging event hosted by Bloggin Mamas and Southeast Toyota. Basic things that I just didn’t have the time or energy for before.
My nights spent trying to get 3 kids ready for the next day – outfits laid out in advance, laundry done, dishwasher loaded, and the dreaded weekly pre-clean before the cleaning lady comes on Thursdays – all while trying to cook a little more at home. Then it’s time for their staggered bed times (with the baby normally being the first to turn in and Hazeline normally being the last) and the nightly game of whack-a-mole, to keep each of my kids in their respective beds while dealing with the dreaded 4 month wakeful period…which mom-nesia had just about wiped clean from my memory before Everett started showing symptoms, i.e. waking for a bottle and some playtime at 4:15 am. Only to have Greenleigh wake up early, crawl into bed next to me and tell me how excited she is to see me. It’s equal parts exhausting and fulfilling.
Where does my blog fit in to this chaos? Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I have no intention to stop blogging. In fact, I feel more compelled to write than ever before, and I love feeling excited about writing. It’s just a matter of working blogging into the chaos of this new routine. A routine that sometimes isn’t very routine at all.
So for a while my posting might be a bit sporadic. There may be busy weeks or there may be weeks like last week where you don’t see or hear from me at all (although I’m going to try to make that a rare occurrence). But rest assured, I’m still here.
