Transitioning Back To Work

Three years ago, I said goodbye to one of my favorite jobs ever - the people, the work, everything about that position was amazing. My career took more leaps and bounds forward during my time there than anywhere else.

New head shot for the new job!
Photo by Chuck Fazio

My family needed me home part-time and so I was.  Except I really wasn't.  While I drove the Mom Taxi around town for kid activities and ran errands, I was playing post-op nurse for the Hubby and working part-time at another association as well as working on launching my own event business (a dream of mine since......forever!).

Now today, well two months ago to be exact, I went back to work.  Back to the Monday through Friday schedule, back to rush hour commuting, and back to the office.  The kids miss me and I miss them.   The baby is at day care and the two older kids are still home with the Hubby for now as he is still working on recovery himself.

There have been moments but the transition has gone pretty smoothly.  How?

Routine.  We have pretty defined routines in the morning. Down to who gets each kid up and dressed and what breakfast options are.  It really keeps arguments and delays in the morning down to a minimum.

I get up before any of the kids are awake - or at least the kids are still in a bed quiet.  It lets me get dressed and hair/makeup on (aka let's me transform!) before the madness of dressing the kids and making breakfast.

Organize All The "Stuff".  Once I am downstairs, that's it.  I try to bring everything I need downstairs with me the first time so there is less up and down and up and down runs as the clock ticks down to departure time.  Some mornings I manage this perfectly - most mornings I can limit my up and down trip to one extra trip - not bad!!!!! My work bag is packed and ready before I go to bed each night.

Work is for Work.  Home is for Family.  So far I have managed to not bring work home.  I have talked about work but no files or email from home. Hopefully I can keep work from taking over my home life --- close to event times that may not be totally possible, I am going to try to protect my family time.  When I do have work to do (beside the full time job, I am managing my IT WORKS business and my wedding/special event planning company too!), I wait until after bedtime to open the laptop.

Staying Connected During The Day.  The fact that the Hubby is still home probably makes this a little easier.  The kids still have a parent at home and they haven't had to alter their activities.  I get to text or call the house to check in anytime and I get pics during the day to feel connected to whatever they are doing during the day. This will change once Hubby goes back to work but for now, its great.

Focus on The Good Stuff.  Loving my work helps too - I don't dread sitting down at my desk each day and even on those days when the clock moves slowly, I don't hate being there.   I miss my kids.  I miss eating lunch with them and reading books and taking them on daytime outings.  I even miss the madness of trying to get two little ones to take naps at the same time.  I could spend all day thinking about what I am missing but instead I focus on what goodness this transition brings to my family ---- stable income, happier mommy, and the chance for the kids to see that other adults in their life (teachers, day care, friends) are there to help them and love them too.

The honeymoon phase of a new job is pretty close to over --- it feels normal again to be a full-time-working-outside-the-house-mom.  Loving it now and looking forward to more great adventures ahead for us in this new normal.