Some Thoughts on my Workiversary

Today is two years since I returned to work. That is significant because I finally get credit for all the time I put in before I left. So benefits-wise, I've been there for seven years, but sometimes I feel like I've been there for two and sometimes I feel like I've been there for fourteen years because I've worked with the same people on and off for that long.

I love my job but I never imagined how difficult it would be to be a working mom. I had great visions of having a job for 20 or 30 hours a week when I had children. The problem came when I realized I had to choose between full time and nothing. So full time it was. My schedule is like a game of tetris. The simplest tasks, like going to the store or taking a plate of cookies to the neighbors or getting the kids to extracurricular activities involve an astounding amount of planning. My afternoon workouts have turned into pre-dawn workouts. Sleep doesn't happen so much. I'm pretty sure my friends have forgotten my name because girls' night out has become a pipe dream.

But going back to work hasn't been all bad. I went back before I had intended on going back, partly so Chris could quit his job without worrying about replacing it with an equal amount of income. He was finally able to do that and it has made such a wonderful difference in our lives that it alone is worth the extra stress of being a working mom. And Chris has been nothing short of amazing - going to school parties, picking up the kids from daycare and fixing dinner most nights.

I also love my job. When I started back, it was to the "salt mines". I was rating bridges. Now that I'm back in design, I can honestly say that I really love my job. Sometimes the circumstances aren't ideal, especially at Christmastime when our bridge rehabilitations are due and for reasons which I won't discuss here we seem to be put in a bind every December, just when I need to devote extra time to family and friends.

But overall, my working circumstances have improved and I am getting much better at putting my family ahead of my job. After all, it's just a job. It's not real life.

This is real life:

and I would never let something as silly as a job stand in the way of that.