Part-Time Rocks

I'm three days in to my new (old) job and so far I am loving it!

I walked in on Monday to a new office with my name already on the door, and there are still lots of familiar faces from when I was there five years ago. Most of my job responsibilities have stayed the same so there's not too much of a learning curve. But it's funny how things that I did in my sleep five years ago I'm having to really sit and think about how to do it now.

Part time is definitely the way to go for me. I love that I get to be Stephanie, the hard-working employee, in the mornings, and in the afternoons, I'm Rylan and Presley's Mommy.

This week has been interesting because the kids haven't started school yet so Daddy has been the one to stay home with them until about 1:30. Let's just say that when I get home the kids are still in their pj's, the little one is covered in markers/paint/food, and every surface in our house is a bit sticky. I don't ask a lot of questions. They had fun and I'm thankful he could be there.

But to give you a better picture, I came home on Monday and Presley was eating an ice cream bar out of a Tupperware bowl on the coffee table and smearing the melted ice cream all over the table and floor. Lovely. Then as the day went on I found pizza crusts, watermelon rinds, and lots of other fun goodies in every room of the house. Did they have a frat party over here or what?

Oh, and here's what happened to me this morning.

I'm on my way to work - I left at 7:10a.m. and I was so proud of myself for getting an early start. I'm praying out loud in my car, having a grand ole time, and I hit a school zone in kind of an industrial looking area. I was taking a new back route so I wasn't really familiar with it. Anyway, this big construction truck is in front of me so when I turned right at the stop light I kind of sped up to get around him. All of a sudden I see the back side of a school zone sign and I realize oops - the school zone was still in effect when I turned right. Crap. And then the police lights started flashing behind me. Perfect.

I truly thought I would get off with a warning, but no, I got a ticket. And since I completed my last defensive driving course on October 24th because of a stupid speed trap in Copper Canyon (on my way home from a Bible study, no less) I have to pay the whole $326. Now may I just say that the reason I am working is because we really need the money, not just so I can go on a shopping spree at Nordstroms (but a girl can dream). So basically, I am working this week and part of next just to pay for this stupid ticket which I would not have gotten if I wasn't going to work.

After I got the ticket the tears came, a little too late - maybe I should have begged and cried and I could've gotten that warning. But I'm like, Hello God, did you not just hear my prayers? I mean, really? Can't you help a sister out here? Because I'm really not feeling it! I mean, thanks a lot!

So that kind of dampened my day but what can you do. It got better when I ran into the human resources director and she said that just a few days before I had emailed my old co-worker to feel out what was going on around there these days (which is how this whole thing got started), she and my old boss and her boss were sitting around talking about how they wish they could hire me back - that I was the gold standard for that position!

I can't tell you how much that made my day. For the last 5 years I've just been "Mom." It was so great to know that people value me for other things, too. I feel like I've reconnected a little bit with the old, pre-mom me, and it feels pretty good. I would not trade my Mommy status for the entire universe but I think this is very healthy for me.

Oh, another bonus - since I haven't been with the kids all morning, it's not such a drag to play several rounds of Connect Four after I get home and my patience level with them has not been depleted. It's a win for everyone!