Status quo…for now

That big decision I was pondering a couple of weeks ago has been resolved. My pro/con list was very helpful and now that the decision has been made I feel free to talk about it.

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you probably know I work full time outside the home in a university admissions office. I’ve been in the office for almost seven and a half years, nearly five of which have been spent actively applying and interviewing for other positions around campus. It’s been about a year and a half since my last application and interview because I’ve more or less given up. After a dozen applications and over a dozen interviews, I’ve come to the conclusion that my purpose in the office is purely decorative. I’m there as eye candy and that’s about it.

Since applying for jobs for the sole purpose of escaping the one I was in has not served me well, I resolved to stop looking for something else unless that something else was something I really wanted. Over the past year and half a lot of jobs have opened up but none of them made me rabid with excitement. Then a few weeks ago a position in the library opened up and I seriously considered applying for it.

The thing that drew me to the job was also it’s major caveat; the schedule. Three days a week working 3pm to midnight, one day working noon to 9pm and every Sunday from 11am to 8pm. That’s exactly how the schedule was spelled out, too. No indication of which days during the week would be worked, just that you’d be expected to work those hours. I assumed that meant the schedule frequently changed based on the needs of the other staff.

I talked this over with Nathan. A job like this could mean cutting our daycare costs by over 75%. Autumn would be home with a relative at all times save for the one day a week I’d have to be to work at noon. I would no longer have to worry about missing her first day of kindergarten (which is still a good couple years away) because of the vacation blackout period in my office and my worries over what to do for preschool next fall would also vanish.

For several days I mentally pieced together a cover letter to send in with my application, but one evening as I sat down for dinner with my family I realized how much I would miss being home with them in the evening. Sure, I’d still get a couple of days with them during the week, but Nathan would be the one putting Autumn to bed and reading her stories most nights. Three days a week I’d get to bed no earlier than 1am and I’d miss Sunday dinner with my parents as long as I held the job.

Of course there’s also the chance I wouldn’t even get the job because, you know, I HAVEN’T GOTTEN ONE YET, but I didn’t want to be in the position of turning down the first position offered to me in seven and a half years. I also didn’t want to be in the position of sitting in a cold library when I’d rather have my lap warmed by 36 pounds of little girl, the two of us laughing our fool heads off while we watch “The Muppet Show.”

We could pay down our debt a lot faster if we didn’t have to pay so much for daycare. I’m sure that’s what Dave Ramsey would say, but when it comes to MY family time Dave Ramsey can suck it.

Tagged as: Family, jobs