It has been a month now since I changed careers, and although I knew it was going to change my life, I’m not sure I realized exactly how much so.
I realized last night, that I spend about three hours more A DAY with my children now. In a regular work week, that’s fifteen hours a week. Over an entire year, that is 780 hours! I will spend an extra month with my children this year—that is pretty significant.
That extra time means that I get to eat dinner with my family every night. Before, I was getting home at 8:00pm almost every night, and because three of our kids go to their “other” parent's on weekends, I would only have dinner with them on Sundays. I have missed out on a lot of great dinner conversations. At our house, the dinner table is where we learn about each other’s day. I’m so happy to be there for that now.
I have also been going to watch dance classes, gymnastics, and swimming. I am even taking our youngest to Parent and Tot swimming—something that would have been crammed into a busy weekend before. I also got to go for a tour of the facility where our son has his goalie clinics. He has been going there for years, and I have never set foot inside it before. I even got to see the treadmill you can skate on—it’s pretty cool!
Oooh, and the most exciting thing is, I am hoping to coach my daughter’s soccer team this year! This is something I have always wanted to do, but couldn’t, because of my schedule. I haven’t heard back from the league yet, but just the fact that I could put my name in to be considered is fantastic!
It’s not ALL about the kids either; working from home has allowed me some “Me Time” too. Not only in the TEN HOURS a week I am saving in commuting time, but because my schedule is more flexible. I often choose to work in the evening (after the kids go to bed), so that I can take some time during the day to have lunch with a friend or visit family.
Sometimes, I combine the two. Recently, I worked from the salon! I’m not kidding! I took my laptop to the salon and worked while I got my colour done.Since my hairdresser is also someone I have been friends with since I was six, this was a social visit too.
I know, I know, you can’t say you got your hair done without photographic evidence of the results, so here is a before and after:
It is so nice to work for a company who allows me so much flexibility, and truly understands my values. My only regret is that I didn’t make this switch ten years ago. Of course, ten years ago this job didn’t exist.
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