Several months ago I took a new position. This now allows me to work from home. It was a VERY scary step for me. I left a decent paying job, for something a little unknown at the time. All I knew was that my old job was making me so miserable and invading into our family time so much that SOMETHING needed to give. After much prayer and asking God for guidance, I made the leap. I worked an extra 6 weeks at my old job to give them the opportunity to find a replacement.
I should not have waited so long! Now, I have the privilege of walking Munchkin to and from school everyday and I get the opportunity to visit with other parents whose jobs allow them the same privilege. This is an accommodation that I NEVER would have received at my old company. I knew in my heart that Munchkin wasn't getting enough sleep, we were out the door before 7 am every morning and we frequently didn't get home until after 6:30-and he was asleep by 7:30. We had nearly no time.
Another byproduct of working at home, is that when he is sick, I don't have to scramble at 6 am and beg my parents or siblings to split a day off with me. I knew this going in, but I didn't really realize how profound this was until recently.
This school year already we have had a bout of strep, a sinus infection and two asthma exacerbations...overall we are doing GREAT! Then last week we had full blown bronchitis.
Breathing treatments every 2-3 hours around the clock with several different meds to ensure that he could breathe...lots of whining and cuddling all night long because he plain didn't feel well. Last fall, I still would have had to drag myself out of the house and go to work after the first day or two and I would have had to have left him with my mom, dad or sister or brother. There was no way around it, I didn't have 75 vacation days a year to stay home every time he was sick.
This time it was different. I have the luxury of working when I can and being measured on the results of my work, not the amount of time that I am in my chair in the office.
When I was at the pediatrician, he asked me if I needed a note for work. It hit me, I no longer had to worry about whether I needed to file for FMLA. I didn't have to calculate how many hours I could be in the office and when to make it not count as a vacation day. I now have a boss that is compassionate and understanding and actually understands that I am much more productive when I am not having to worry about the number of hours I am in my seat.
I am beyond grateful to have that stress removed from our lives. So grateful, I cannot even find the words to express it. I am so grateful, that I think that I actually work harder knowing that they care about me and my family and that they have thus far shown me that with their actions. I really don't feel like I am being given lip service about family/life balance, I truly believe that this is where I am meant to be.
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