taken this morning as Lovie sat on my lap as we waited for school to open
I cried as I left Lovie. And now as I’m typing this, I’m getting all choked up again.
I just adore my girl. She sincerely is the light of my life. This is sincerely what “it” is all about. She is life. She is everything. And tomorrow, she’ll be half a year old already!
Ack.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the weekend, including this morning. I think that’s why the tears came, to be honest.
See, work has offered a new work schedule that I thought I would take complete advantage of: Basically you get every other Friday off. Currently my full time schedule is 37.5 hours a week. With this new schedule, I’d have to work 40 hours during the 5 day week and 35 hours during the 4 day week.
Totally doable, right?
Ummm, let’s dissect:
I drop off and pick up Lovie from daycare every day. My husband and I work in completely different directions so he can not take over any of that (not consistently at least). Right now I drop her off between 630-645 every morning and pick her up at 330. We’re home usually by 430-445. Her bedtime is 7. So I get a couple of hours with my Lovie, in addition to the car time (which I don’t really count since she normally sleeps and if she doesn’t, it’s not like we’re interacting much since we can’t see one another – though we do sing at times).
With this new proposal, drop off time would still be the same because the soonest her school opens is 630. So during the 40 hour/5 day week, I wouldn’t be picking her up till 4-415, thereby not getting home until 5-530 (traffic is REALLY BAD during rush hour); the 35 hour/4 day week, I wouldn’t be picking her up till 445ish, thereby not getting home till 6, on a good day.
Basically… do I give up any real time with her for 9 days and deal with a guarantee much more hectic and much more frustrating rush hour drive so that I can have 1 full day with her, in addition to the weekends?
I have a ton of people telling me YES! DO IT! But I have some that say NO! And this weekend, I’ve gone back and forth with YES! DO IT! And NO!
And I’m really thinking it’s going to be a NO! (Probably doesn’t help that I watched My Sister’s Keeper over the weekend!!)
Am I totally nuts? I’m possibly giving up on a chance to have 1 full day with Lovie every other week! What’s wrong with me?! I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me: I just can’t fathom spending any LESS time with Lovie on those 9 days. I can’t do it. Maybe when she’s 14 I’ll change my mind, but right now I need every moment I can get with her every day- not just every other week.
I dunno. Maybe I’ll try it out since that’s an option (to try it for two weeks). It’ll be my luck though that’ll it’ll be OK and I’ll sign up to do this and then after their “trial period” (end of year), the company will decided to stop offering it.
So if you’re a working mom, and assuming this was a do or don’t thing and there was no option to test it out, do you think you’d sign up for it?
I have this option at work too. I don't do it. I have a minimum 2 hour round-trip commute so I typically only get about an hour a day with the Pie during the week. If I went to the 9 day schedule I wouldn't see her awake at all. Only having the hour a day sucks it big time, but it's better than nothing. And I cry constantly when I'm leaving the house...especially on Mondays...it's so hard to leave and miss another day with her.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, i hate making big decisions like this especially when it involves my baby! i know you'll pick the right path though, good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteI definately would do a trial, that way you will know for sure. Maybe it will be easier than you think! Good luck, and I hated mondays also during the school year.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe our littles ones will be 6 months old tomorrow, crazy.
ReplyDeleteI say give it a try for 1-2 weeks before making a decision.
What a hard decision- - -I like that you have the option and whatever decision you make your time will be honored! www.BreeBee.com
ReplyDeleteMondays do suck big ass.
ReplyDeleteI'd give it a shot mama... that 3 day weekend looks awfully awful tempting!
Sorry I'm so late on this post! But after I get done feeling like you are supermom and I will never be as great of a mom as you...I'll tell you about my schedule. ::pouting::
ReplyDeleteI work a 9/80 schedule where we work 9 hour days and get every other Friday off. I love it! Only on my Fridays off the kids still go to school. That is my ONE day that I have to get stuff done that I need to do, that otherwise can't be done with kids at home.
BUT...I don't see the kids much during the week. I drop them off around 7:15 every morning and don't pick them up until like 6:15. So basically I get less than 2 hours with them at night, and only like a half hour with them in the morning. That part does suck. We make up for it on the weekends, though, and that is why we are ALWAYS having fun on the weekends.
OK, so enough about me...I think you should try it. I think that you would enjoy so much that full day with Lovie. You can take her to things that are only open during the week (story time at the library, etc) that you wouldn't be able to do on the weekend. And you never know, you may find that you take her to daycare for a little bit on Friday mornings if you need to get something done. Or maybe not. Maybe I am having just a little wishful thinking that you possibly can't be THAT perfect. ;-)