Finding a Position that is Tailored to You
March 22, 2022
A Part-time Professional's Perspective
Some days I feel like I am crushing it. Like I am on top of it 100%. As a mom, as a wife, and at my job. You know those days - right? Like the laundry is all put away (ok, well, let’s be honest, mostly put away) and the house is clean. I have managed to get both kids dressed and ready for daycare and camp and The dog has been fed and let out and the kids are in the car by 8:30. Oh! And my husband is out of town traveling for work. These, for obvious reasons, are my favorite days. Mostly because I really feel like I have earned my glass of wine by the time I put the kids to sleep!
Well. That’s how I was feeling on Tuesday. At 9:30. While I was on the phone with my boss after having dropped off both kids and was headed home to do some work before I had to turn around an hour later and take my kid from tennis to swimming and then back to tennis. I even remember saying to her, I don’t know how parents who work full-time make it through the summers.
Then 10:30 hit and what was already a crazy day turned upside down. I got a call from another mom whose son goes to all day camp with my son. Long story short, we pulled both our kids from that camp. So there goes the only all-day option for camp this entire summer.
Then my husband called me, he got a notification on his phone that the power is out at the house. And he’s out of town. So, I take my kid back to his tennis camp and drive home to check. YUP. The power is out.
So now what? No power = no internet and no air conditioning. I had barely even touched on what I need to get done today for work and now I have a four-hour window with my 5-year-old who needs to eat lunch and have some down time before his next outdoor activity in a HOT North Carolina summer.
There are many things that I am grateful for and having a good friend who owns a wine bar with great food and free internet is one of them! So, we gathered our things and posted up on the sofa in the corner for 3 hours. While this may sound relaxing, going to a wine bar with a 5-year-old boy with ADHD is about as relaxing as a birthday party at Chucky Cheese. I was able to get maybe an hour and a half worth of work done and was looking forward to dropping him off at golf so I can get the remainder of what I need to get done finished.
So, we load back into the car to head home to check the power and get ready for golf. Thankfully the power is back on and as I am helping my sweet, adorable, manioc of a child get out of the car, I notice: Little. Red. Dots. All. Over. His. Face...
Of course. Hand, Foot & Mouth disease.
My son, happy as a clam, bounced off into the house – happy to finally be home. It was then that I realized I still had 4 ½ hours until bedtime. And that was the exact moment I decided I was done with this day. We were going to have to forget about golf. Making dinner was definitely off the table. I sat on the floor of the garage, I called my husband almost in tears, and all I said to him was, thank God, I can work part-time because how on earth could anyone possibly manage a day like today working full-time? I certainly don’t think I could.
I mentioned earlier I am grateful for a friend who owns a wine bar, but there are so many other things I am grateful for: I am grateful that my son can take tennis, swimming, and golf lessons, and I am grateful that right now in my life I am able to work part-time. I love working, I have always had a job and I am pretty sure I always will, but right now, working part-time works for me and my family. I know part-time has a bad rap, but it is days like Tuesday, where I am just beyond grateful for the gift of being able to work and not having to miss out on being with my kids. I am also grateful for a husband who knows the perfect evening to come home and scoop up the kids and take them out for dinner : )