I feel like today starts a brand new chapter in my life. I stayed at home instead of going to the office, and DID NOT WORK while I was at home. I worked as a Mom. There are so many things going through my mind right now, after the end of this day. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Will the novelty wear off? Will I become a better worker because of this time with my children? How will this affect me professionally? How will this affect me as a person? As a mother? As a woman?
I am now a part-time worker. I’ve committed to working 20 hours per week, for 1/2 of my pay. I will be in the office on Monday and Tuesday, working from home on Wednesday as as a 1/2 day. This gives me quite a lot of time with my kids. The plan now is for me to have the Twins on Thursday and Fridays; and I will have the flexibility to “steal” any of the kids early on Wednesday, as well as Big Bro and Red on Thursday and Fridays as well. Its up to me. It depends on how I feel I’ve connected with each of the kids and if I think a particular child needs more of me. I will have flexibility with the Twins’ current daycare provider to bring them in on Thursday or Friday if I need to.
From a work perspective, I need to be in the office for two days so I can still be in front of the staff and be part of leadership of the office. I will still coordinate and manage some of our forums, but I am still expected to sell consulting projects and continue to develop/cultivate client relationships. In terms of project delivery, I will serve more of an “advisor” or “director” type role, but for some projects I may have to do some more heavy lifting depending upon our pipeline and workload of our team. We are going to see how this arrangement works over the next few weeks and re-adjust if needed.
So how did my first day go? There were lots of kisses, hugs, conflict resolution, cooking, playing, tears (not me thank goodness), running, laughing, puzzles, hide and seek, diapering, playing outside and pointing to trees, sneezes, little hands pulling at my legs, cutting fingernails, snacks and holding cups with two hands, coloring, reading, chasing, sleeping, and cleaning. Some aspects of my day were magical. Here are some of the more special moments:
There was so much more that happened during the day – and cute things that happened with Big Bro and Red too, but for now I just want to capture the more magical moments – those that were new to me, or those that just touched me in some way.
It was a great day.
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and schools are closed. I’m planning on bringing all of them into the city, stopping by work to say hi, and maybe taking them to a museum. We’ll see how it goes. I’m looking forward to it.
Til tomorrow –
– Mama K
Mama In Motion™ 
You have attained my dream world. I aspire to have a 20 hour work week with time to spend with my kids. Sounds like Utopia! Congratulations
THank you. It really feels wonderful, so far. It is a bit of an adjustment though. I feel like I REALLY need to recalibrate my expectations of myself for work. I feel the need to really pack in a full week’s of work into only 2.5 days which is unrealistic; I keep thinking of all the things I need to get done at work in my limited time which is making me more efficient, but also adding complexity. So far so good – feeling happier already!!
I’m so happy for you. I know this was not an easy decision by any means. Enjoy your babies!
I’m enjoying them so much – so sweet. I’ve already noticed a difference with Twin Husky. He used to be such a daddy’s boy but I’ve noticed lately that he really calls for his Mommy even if it is for him to show me something. I love it. I feel like the biggest difference so far has been a strengthening of bond between he and I.