Tomorrow The Hubs will start his first day at a brand new job. It's a temp job through January, replacing someone on maternity leave, with a hope of it turning permanent. And this new job marks a whole slew of changes for all of us.
For The Hubs:
It means getting back into the routine of a day job. After three years of doing nothing but school full time, I think he's beyond ready. Ready to get back into the swing of working and ready for the income that comes with it. Dual incomes baby, I can hardly wait! It also means having to switch all of his classes to night classes. With about a year left to go, he'll be working all day, and then racing from work to school four nights a week to take classes. He even has a Saturday class to try to keep up with. That means by the time he gets home, it will be late and weekends aren't going to be used much for anything but homework. We won't be seeing much of each other except maybe on Sundays.
For The Tweedles:
I think both of the Tweedles are too young to remember a time when The Hubs was working a regular job. Bug was less than a year old when he got laid off and we decided to send him back to school, and that means Bunny was three. I think it's going to be an adjustment for them for him to not be around. Not just during the day which they aren't likely to notice as much since they're now both in school. But he won't be there to take them to school in the mornings. He won't be there to pick them up from school. And most nights he won't be there to tuck them in at night. I think they're going to miss him being around more than any of us realize. It also means Bug has to go into after school care since he'll get out of school before I get off work. I don't think he'll have a problem adjusting, but it will be another change for him to manage. And he's four. All change is hard to manage when you're four. It's not much easier when you're six. I'm anticipating some acting out in response to this dramatic change, but hoping it passes quickly and they adjust to the new routine quickly.
For LW and GG:
With The Hubs being gone so much, it means I'm going to need help on the one day a week I actually have to go into the office. The Hubs and I will be gone to work before either of The Tweedles need to be at school so we'll be depending on GG to get them up, dressed, fed and ready to go, and on LW to get them picked up and driven to school on time. And since I'll have to drive an hour after I get off work just to get home, I'll need LW to pick them up for me on that day too.
For Me:
It means I'm about to become essentially a single working mom. I'll be responsible for getting The Tweedles to and from school (except on days I go into the office and then of course, LW will pitch in). I'll have to get them to all of their after school activities. Make sure they get breakfast and dinner. Make sure their homework is done and corrected. Help them study for tests and work on projects. And do my day job and my contract work as well. It also means I'm likely to have to pick up a fair amount of the cleaning chores like dishes and cleaning the cat litter that The Hubs won't have the time to keep up with during the week. I do not know how real single working mom's do it. I honestly don't. And I'm not ashamed to admit I'm more than a little terrified by the prospect.
I suspect The Hubs and I will both be exhausted before we get into the swing of our new schedules maybe even after we're into it full swing. It's going to suck, no two ways about it. And yet, I can't help but be so proud of The Hubs for working so hard for us and going back to school to get his degree. It would have been so easy to give up ages ago, but even now with the prospect of full time permanent employment, he's still focused on school. And so proud of LW and GG for being so willing to help out on office days. They didn't make me even feel a twinge of guilt for asking. I love how we're all pulling together as a family to make this work. And while I know there will be days each of us feel like it's too much, that we just can't keep this up, I feel like we'll make it through. I could not have wished for a better family, people. I am truly blessed.
Seriously.. Thoughts?
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