I go back to work right after Thanksgiving and will be 3 days/week through the end of the year. In December alone, I have a surgical consult for Gatito (Aggghhhhh! I can’t bring myself to talk about that yet, but I’m sure I will before long), his karate test for his next belt, his school holiday party, and Ella’s four month well visit, all during regular work hours. How in the hell am I going to manage all that when I am working full time? I know that I’ve done it before and I can do it again, and that these things tend to come in clusters and that A can split them with me, but lordy it is daunting.
The other thing is that I’ve been wanting Gatito to start going to school full days (9-3) on the two days/week that he doesn’t have karate or viola in the afternoon. I just feel that at this point he’ll get more out of being in school than hanging out with Tata and also that Ella will benefit from having one-on-one attention for more than two hours on those days. And frankly, while the school is outrageously expensive, the difference in cost between full and half days is teensy. So last Monday, I planned for him to try it out. At first, on the advice of his teachers, I was only going to have him stay for lunch, but he said he wanted to stay all day. Then, the morning of, he panicked and did not want to stay at all. So I came back at the end of the morning session and decided to stay with him. (LOVE that the school had no issue with my staying in the classroom whatsoever. I was welcomed.) While Ella slept in a corner in her car seat, I sat with him through lunch, rest, and playground (when he ran off with his friends), then waited outside while he went for his last class (more academics). The result was that the full day was no longer scary for him and that, by this week, he was begging to stay every day. And I just feel like this relatively easy solution is something I wouldn’t have had a chance to do if I were working, and I wonder how many other things like that will come up over the years.
Well, think of it this way: if you weren’t working and earning a salary, that “teensy” difference between half-day and full-day tuition might not be so teensy, and you’d be worrying about finding child care for Ella while you did some activities with Gatito and vice versa. Or at least those are the stresses in my life as a stay at home parent.
Very true!
Thinking of you. Hope it’s going well.
How did it go? I follow your blog, and have a son born around the same time as your Ella (he was born 09/09/09). I return to work on Monday, so am curious as to how your return is going. I try not to get too wrapped up in it, as it makes me cry. I hope your return was smooth, and that all is well with your family.