Evelyn’s recent birthday celebrations were of course a big milestone for me too. Not only is my ickle (ok she was never that ickle) baby heading towards toddlerhood (how on earth did that happen?) but my year long maternity leave is also at an end. I am now officially a working mother.
That leaves me with any number of no doubt well blogged about old arguments that I could drag out for this post. The pros and cons of mums going back to work, the financial and logistical nightmare that is finding childcare, etc etc.. but I don’t have the time to write all that – I’m a working mother you know!
Actually we are incredibly lucky that Fred is the main earner in our household, we both have very accommodating employers and jobs that are amenable to flexible working. In Fred’s case he has been able to change his hours so that he has Wednesdays off and I am only working Wednesday to Friday. I know all too many women who have wanted to work part time but been forced to decide between returning full time or quitting all together. This may be 2010, but we girls are still the only ones with the boobs and the wombs, equality is creeping only slowly towards us.
Ok, so I did get drawn into one of the old arguments there, now lets get back to talking about me.
So far it’s going well. I think I picked a good time to go back as the lab is pretty quiet with it being the summer holidays and I am slipping back into it all with alarming ease. It’s quite nice to be able to use bits of kit that I couldn’t get my hands on when I was pregnant – not for any health and safety reason, just because the way they are set up meant I couldn’t reach them over the bump, and it is lovely to have grown up – non baby related conversations. I even love my commute! Clearly that won’t last but, but one thing I found particularly hard about looking after a small baby was the way that your day starts at full speed the second you were woken up. So having a little walk and a train ride in between getting up and starting work, just being able to read a magazine or listen to a podcast really improves my morning.
On the two days a week when Evelyn goes to nursery this is especially welcome as getting both of us up, fed, dressed and out the door by 8.15am is a bit of a challenge! Nursery has also been a source of much stress all round, as poor Evelyn would wail and throw herself over me as soon as we got into the building. I’d then have to desperately fight back my own tears and try to wave bye bye like it was the jolliest thing in the world, before dissolving into a heap or worry and guilt outside. Thankfully though, I think we may have had a break through and last week Evelyn even managed to smile at the nursery staff as we arrived and didn’t even seemed bothered about me going.
I shall now try very hard not to find her obvious indifference to me upsetting too!
Kxxx
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