Friday, February 17, 2012

A new chapter in Our Story

I quite often compose blog posts in my mind while doing mundane tasks, like walking to work. So I had the beginning of this post set up in my mind. I was going to tell you all how Rich is a morning person so he showers first on days we work. If he didn't, he runs the risk of me hitting the snooze button three (or four) times. He also likes to eat breakfast in the morning before we leave the house while I have to be awake for a few hours before I can stomach any food. He does that and hangs out with the girls while I get ready for work.

So I was going to write how one morning this week, I showered after Rich but instead of dressing in work appropriate clothing, I dressed in my $10 Gap Outlet clearance jeans with the bottoms cut off and a fleece pullover. I live in fleece pullovers during the winter, by the way. It wasn't a vacation day. It wasn't a sick day. It was my day off.

This is the big change for my family that I alluded to last month. My employer approved a four day work week schedule. (I've been working on this for a long time.) My hours (and salary) were reduced by 20%. I'm hopeful that this works out. I can't discuss my job or work on the internet but trust me when I say that it can be stressful. I hold a good deal of responsibility and I don't want this reduced schedule to make that even more stressful.

Ideally, my day at home will be Friday so that Grammy can leave Thursday night after Rich and I arrive home from work. (Rich usually drops the girls off at school on Monday mornings.) This week was different in that Rich and I had a meeting with Anna's teacher and therapists regarding her progress and transition to kindergarten so I moved my day off. It also happened to be the same day as the girls' gymnastics class so Rich and I were able to watch the last 40 minutes of that.

The girls are super excited. I'm not quite sure that they fully understand although they seem to. I don't know if they realize that it will be weekly, not just once. Allie keeps asking about the day that I will be bringing them to school as if it is a one time deal. And Anna told me that I wasn't allowed to go to work ever again!

I have pictures from my day at home that I was going to post with this. Unfortunately, I have a terrific headache tonight and need to cut this short. My eyes hurt and I couldn't read the computer screen or t.v. earlier.

The girls act weird when I'm home and Grammy's here. We can't figure it out. They obviously aren't perfect angels and have their moments but for the most part, they behave when I'm here alone with them and Grammy says the same. So the day started off a bit rough and Anna most definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Which also happened to be my bed. After gymnastics, Grammy left to run errands and shop and the girls finally calmed down a bit.

Here's the conversation I had with Em later that night during tubs:

Emily - "Today was the best day ever."

Me - "Why is that, Em?"

Emily - "Because you and Daddy came to gymnastics."

I know. I wanted to cry.

More later....

(I want to say thank you for all the votes!)

10 comments:

Lily said...

Congratulations!!! I was wondering when we would get to hear about the mystery news last month!

Margaret said...

yay!! I'm so happy for you! I'm glad your work approved the change and I hope it continues to go well. I bet your girls will be so happy when they figure out that it's a recurring change. :-)

MandyE (Twin Trials and Triumphs) said...

Hope this is a very positive change for you, Sarah! Congrats!

Samantha said...

What excellent news! Just wait till it gets warmer and think of all the fun stuff you guys can do!

Stacey said...

After my friend had her second baby her boss alowed her to add an hour to her normal day to get her Fridays off. She has felt like there are 8 days a week now! I hope you feel less stressful and get to have some extra fun with your long weekends!

bearie1 said...

I'm so excited for you. Having the additional day off will make such a difference. Hope it all "works" out. Elaine

Wiley said...

This sounds awesome! I really hope it works out for y'all. I've tried to finagle my same number of hours to 4 days, but since I work at least 10 over, I doubt it will work!

Julia said...

Wow, that is great! More time at home, some time without kids to do whatever, imagine the possibilities! Happy for you all :)

Kris said...

Very happy for you ... but I have to admit I was hoping for a puppyy ...lol

Krista said...

I'm a daily reader of your blog. You have a way of making mundane everyday things sound interesting. This is my first time commenting because something you said struck a chord; the girls act weird when you and Grammy are home together. I'm a nanny, and when the father and I are there at the same time, the kids are crazy. I can't figure it out either, but it really bothers me! Maybe something with having two figures of authority who aren't usually there at the same time?... Anyway, keep up the great pics and blog posts!