Balance, in the busy days of being a stay-at-home Mum with a preschooler and a toddler, often eludes me. Finding time with the girls, doing housework, cooking nutritious meals, shopping, time to myself, exercise, time with my honey, time as a family... and the list goes on. But I've noticed more of it lately. A big contributing factor is a less-stressed husband... this is part of the reason why we made this move. Regular work hours. Shorter and easier commutes. Leaving work behind at the end of the work day. Supportive manager. Greater job satisfaction and lots of opportunities for growth. This is such a huge relief!
We've been having some really great times together. Skating, tobogganing, Rock Band, movie nights, playing. Relaxing. I feel so in love with my family! And more appreciative. Instead of wishing for the days when the girls are older and we don't have little kids needing us for almost everything they do, we are living in the moment. Obviously there are still moments of frustration, but there is a growing sense of contentment. Gratitude. Love.
And in the true nature of parenting, once things start to stabilize, change happens! This time, in the form of me going back to work. I've been wanting to work part-time for a while, needing some time outside of the house and regular grown-up interaction. Being a doula is my passion, and I would love to do it full-time, but it's very tricky with little children + limited child care + unknown & often long work hours! I would like to take 1 client a month still, but that's the most I can do right now. So I tried to get on with University of Calgary, but there didn't seem to be many openings, and there was also the child care issue. Then I was shopping in a London Drugs one day and thought hmmm.... perhaps I could do a few shifts here. I emailed some of my contacts from my LD days, and was quickly put in touch with a pharmacy manager at a store close to me. He remembered me from a pharmacy conference in Arizona and told me they could use me for sure. No interview required! It all just fell into place (as many things have done here). So after about five years of being away from LD (ten years since I worked in the pharmacy), I'll be working there again as a pharmacy assistant, about 20 hours per week: 1 weekday shift (my supa sister will babysit) + 1 evening shift + 1 half weekend shift. I've done my orientation and training and my first shift is on Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to it. Travel money for trips back home! I think it will work out really well until the girls are in school.
Hopefully we can maintain the rhythm we have found of late. We've been through a lot of change lately, and it's made us stronger, so I say, bring it on!!!
