this woman’s work

And in many ways it’s the perfect job because once he’s through the 7-week training he’ll go to second shift (3:30 to midnight), which means he will remain the primary caregiver when I’m working. We can have a big lunch as a family (instead of dinner) and on the days when I’m up to my neck with work, he leaves just as PBS Kids starts their afternoon programming, which means I can use the TV as my childcare during that time as women have done throughout the ages. Or at least throughout my particular age.

The two challenges are the 7-week training because it’s 9 to 5 and not worth it to go through the fight to find a decent sitter (I will cobble together childcare from family and friends so I’m not that worried — plus Noah is a good last-minute sister-wrangler) and it’s too far for him to walk/bike but not on a bus line. We may get a junker car for awhile. That’s what we did before — he had a lousy 2-door monstrosity that got great gas mileage and was just for his commute. For now likely he’ll take the van and I’ll rely on those friends and family for when I need a ride. Again this is why we moved here — there’s enough walkability that I don’t need a car most days anyway so it’s not a huge insurmountable block. I can always drive him, too, and we can take the bus to some of our homeschool stuff, which the kids will think is a treat and will remind me of Portland since that was our sole transport back then.

While I will no longer be the sole wage earner, I’ll still need to add my income to make our budget because the pay off for the flexible hours is not such great pay but we expected that. Our main goal is not to let go of our business because that has the most potential to give us the lifestyle that we want. And I have to admit that it’s nice to know that some of the heat is off of me so I won’t need to feel guilty when I’m writing something that won’t pay the bills.

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