When BBZ was 6 months old, my boss allowed me to drop to 32 hours/week for work. It was a really hard decision that I mulled over for quite some time. Read about it here, if you'd like.
What made the decision even harder was that BBZ's daycare didn't take kids at 4 days/week, so we had to pay for the 5th day that we didn't send him. I took a cut in pay but had to pay the same for daycare. Anyone who has their kids in daycare knows that it is crazy expensive. It was awesome that as a family we were able to do that.
So I worked my 4-day work week until the summer of 2010. When we found and decided to purchase our new home, and became landlords over our previous home, I knew it was time to go back to full-time.
BBZ was almost 2, I wanted our new home, and I liked the idea of being able to provide all of the things he would need in his life, so the decision wasn't that hard. I was ready to go back.
Shortly after, December of 2010 to be exact, I accepted a new position within my organization that had many more responsibilities than my previous one. I became a program director for 7 departments (or programs) and oversee the work of about 30-35 people either directly or indirectly. It was, and continues to be, my dream job.
2 weeks after I accepted the position, I found out I was pregnant with LBZ. New baby and a new job? Pregnant brain while trying to learn a new job? And clean up some messes, too? It was a lot. It is still a lot. But all that aside, I knew recently that something needed to change.
Remember my post about not being able to identify the feeling I had after the new year? Well, I have continued to be in a "rut" of sorts. I love my job and I love my family, but I was feeling like something just wasn't good enough. That something had to give. I miss my boys so much. I was losing my patience when I was home and not enjoying the moments I had like I thought I should be. I was getting my work done, but aching for something, I just wasn't sure what.
I've been thinking for a while about going to 4 days again. I guess since I returned to work in November I knew it could be an option. I think that I knew in the back of my mind that if I didn't feel great about being back at work that going back to 4 days was an option. Well, it's official...
...I'm going to 4-day work weeks starting in March!!!
I am so excited and relieved and feel like I can breathe easier already. I re-read the post I wrote last time and am feeling many of the same emotions as I did then. I even had a cold that wouldn't go away last time, and now I have been sick almost non-stop since LBZ was born. I really think a lot of it is caused by stress and trying to be every single thing to every body. Something has to give.
While I am so excited that today is my very last Monday I will have to work for a while, I am nervous about trying to cram 40 hours of work into 32 hours. I really love my job. The job is one that is a true culmination of every single thing I worked for. I look back at my career and see the path that led me to where I am, and it is exactly where I would like to be, and I hope that I can maintain it with this change.
So there it is. I had a little tease with last Monday off for President's Day and we had an incredible time. We went out and about and BBZ listened so well. He skipped a nap, but wasn't grouchy and seemed to like our special day together. While the change is scary, I believe that it will all end up the way it is meant to :)
