I went back to work at the end of August, when E was 8 months old. I would have taken longer off but my work needed me back. In any case, I only work two days a week, which is great because for those two days my focus is not baby related (good for the old brain and social skills, and means I get the luxury of hot cups of tea, periods of uninterrupted thinking time, and the luxury of concentrating on one task only) and E goes to nursery, which is proving to be brilliant for her social skills. She loves being around other babies, she loves the carers, and her development has come on leaps and bounds since being at nursery. I went for two days as essentially we are marginally financially better off with me working two days a week rather than full-time, thanks to the current Government's rather complicated tax policies, and the extremely astronomical costs of childcare (we don't have family nearby to help out with childcare). I can't even bring myself to tell you what percentage of my wage goes on childcare for two days a week, but I will say that our monthly childcare bill is way way more than our monthly mortgage. I had no idea how expensive childcare is - how does anyone afford more than one child is all I can ask?
Anyway, I digress, a lot of days I'm out and about at meetings around Edinburgh, which is fantastic as I'm not a person who likes to sit in an office all day. I took these photos on one workday to show a typical day at work for me:
The views coming back from my meeting
Not pictured: my 'beautiful' office, paperwork paperwork paperwork, emails emails emails, lots of cups of tea.
I also get the luxury of working from home one day a week which is pretty amazing - I won't photograph that though as essentially it's me in front of my laptop all day working.
The one downside of work is that every day, at 2pm, I get this overwhelming longing to see my daughter and to give her the biggest cuddle. I could set my watch by this longing. On days when I work from home it always seems like the longest time that my mister and E walk through the door of an evening. On days when I work in the office it feels like it takes me hours to count down from 2pm until it's time to leave, and then crossing Edinburgh to get to E's nursery feels like it takes 5 hours. It's always worth it for the mammoth hug I get from her, but gosh, those hours from 2pm feel like weeks, months, years even.
I'm so grateful to be able to work two days a week. My contract is, as always, up at the end of March so I'm crossing every finger and toe in the hope it will be extended. Cross your fingers for me too, please!
xx
Fingers crossed! Your work looks great in that it gets you out and about. Edinburgh's a lovely place to work, I find - if the drudgery of it all is getting you down then all you need to do is go for a short walk at lunchtime to have your spirits lifted by the buildings and the views. x
ReplyDeleteToad & Feather
Thank you! I know, it's such an inspiring city! My favourite city!
Deletelovely pictures!
ReplyDeleteI haven't looked into childcare yet, I'm kind of dreading it to be honest with what everyone says about the cost. It's quite ridiculous really that work doesn't pay! Our current plan of action is for us both to work 4 days a week so we need three days of nursery, but we'll need to see!
You or your husband's work might do childcare vouchers - it's salary sacrifice so you can save money through your tax? I'm not sure how much you can save but I think it's substantial!
DeleteFingers crossed for you! And I love all of these pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you! ;) I'm so used to crossing my fingers every January that you'd think they'd just seize and stay in that position!
DeleteYour job sounds wonderful especially not being tied to a desk. I always worked nights when my kids were growing up so as not to have to pay child are as its out of this world expensive. That urge to cuddle your children will never leave you. My kids are grown and can't wait to give them the biggest hugs! xxoo
ReplyDeleteI love these photos so much. I do hope they extend it.
ReplyDeletechildcare here is crazy too - I think if you have more then one child its probably more affordable to just stay at home then work at all. It annoys me as it doesnt exactly encourage women to rejoin the workforce after having a baby. i would love to work from home a couple of days a week but my work pretty much requires you in the office though.
ReplyDelete