As of today, my life has changed. I am both tremendously excited and a little bit nervous.
I spent the last three years in an amazing full-time job, working year-round as a curriculum coordinator for my local school district. I am so thankful for the experience, for my colleagues' friendship and wisdom, and for all that I learned. However, my job was grant-funded, and, as is the case with grant-funded work, the grant came to an end. When I found out that my funding would not be renewed, I made the decision to return to part-time work so that I would have more time for my family and for me.
My job ended in June and I took five weeks' worth of vacation time. First, we went to New Hampshire to visit my parents. While there, we road-tripped to Montreal with the kids and my parents (via Ben and Jerry's in Vermont, of course!). We came back to Denver for just under a week to hang out with friends and enjoy our annual Denver 4th of July traditions. After that we headed to California to go to family camp in the Sierras with extended family.
As of today, I'm juggling part-time consulting for my school district, part-time freelance/contract work in the scrapbooking world, and part-time stay-at-home mom-hood. It feels good. Weird, but good. I am sure I will figure out a schedule and find just the right balance soon.
It's been really interesting to hear reactions to my new life from friends and family. They range from "Good for you! You work harder than anyone I know and deserve some time off!" to "I can't believe you are throwing away your career!" What I've learned through this transition is that you have to do what's right for you, and what's right for you might not be what's right for someone else. I've also learned that what's right for you now might not have been right for you five years ago and may not be right for you five years from now.
So...as I begin this new journey, I will finally have time to hug my kids more, blog again, scrap more, and dare I say it...exercise. Stay tuned...tomorrow will be my top picks from CHA even though I'm not in Chicago. First, however, I will hug my kids, jump on the treadmill or go for a bike ride, put in a couple of hours of consulting work, and take Eli to see the new Harry Potter movie.
3 comments:
The full-time work force's loss is our gain! Enjoy your time off this summer :)
Hi there! I arrived at your blog via the OA blog, and I feel compelled to comment here for the first time. Just wanted to say a great big "Good for you!" on your career change. You are right--you definitely have to do what is best for you. And after all, you can always look for a full-time job again later, if you want. But your kids will never be this age again, so you have to enjoy this time with them while you can. Good luck in this new phase of your life, and happy scrapbooking!
wow, I admire your scrapbooking skills and PT work, along with working for the schools and juggling being an at-home mom, very cool! Sounds like a little bit of the best of all worlds!
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