Eager Beavers

Mitchell and Ty started their new school year today. They were SO excited as they anticipated the arrival of their bus. Mitchell begins Grade 3; Ty begins Grade 1. And Mommy--well, she's lonely. But she's also about to begin a new chapter in her life.

I am now experiencing a bit of "empty nest" and the boys have only been gone for just over two hours. For the first hour I busied myself with errands in and around town. Now I've got a big mess to clean up in the kitchen, due to my lack of organization this morning as I got lunch kits ready for school. But by the middle of next week I should have my system back and things will run more smoothly than they did today. It was a "first day back" for all of us; the boys back to school and me back to the mom of boys who attend school.

For the past few weeks I've been exploring part-time employment opportunities. I was really hoping that a permanent, full-time Educational Assistant position would become available at our school this fall, but that hasn't happened. I'm still on the sub list, but it's very sporadic employment and that doesn't help when it comes to budgeting.

While I am reluctant to return to the work force for many reasons, my main concern is the welfare of my boys and what effect my return to work will have on the family as a whole. For me, it means a sigh of relief financially. The past eight months have been a struggle for us, and if I could bring in some part-time income it would take a lot of pressure off of my husband to work overtime, etc. Overtime is becoming less frequent for him, so we need to take action sooner than later with regards to our ability to pay the bills.

The town that we live in is very small, and childcare is not readily available. That is where my concern for the boys comes in. Even if I work part-time, the boys will likely have to be in daycare either before or after school, or possibly both. That doesn't sit well with me, especially when my daycare options are limited to only one childcare provider in the entire town, and she herself has told me that her daycare is just temporary . . . she's not sure how long she's going to run it. So, that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

Now, having said that, with Wayne working shift work, it does ease some potential issues in a lot of ways. If I could obtain a position where I could work around Wayne's work schedule, then the boys' daycare time would, theoretically, be minimal.

As I've been mulling through this the past few weeks, I've been experiencing quite a bit of anxiety. I have no problem returning to the workforce. I actually think (especially during the winter months), it will be a great thing to fill up my time. Of course, my ideal is working in an educational setting, simply because that means I would have the summer off. And around here, with the way the demands of the garden became evident very early in the summer, time off in July and August would be fantastic. But that would be in a perfect world. And we don't live in a perfect world.

However, I have located two employment possibilities that I'm quite excited about. One position is at a technical institute located in our nearest city, 35 minutes away. The position is administratively-based, which I love, but I'm not overly-qualified for the job, although it's a position in which I could easily learn what is expected of me. And the pay is phenomenal. Not to mention, it's only 18 hours a week, which would be great. The other position just became known to me today. Our local pre-school is looking for a teacher. The pre-school only runs on Tuesday and Thursday mornings; again, ideal hours. But I'm not sure that they'd pay enough for us to benefit sufficiently from the job. However, if I got that job, there would never be childcare issues for Mitchell and Ty, and I could still sub in the pubic school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

So, I'm in a bit of a quandary. I know I need to trust God in everything, including potential employment. But I thought that would come in the way of a permanent position as an EA in the school. Since that didn't happen, I began to wonder what, exactly, He has in store for me (us). Right now I believe it is one of the two jobs that I mentioned.

If you think of me, please send prayers on my behalf regarding my employment issues. I'll keep you posted on any developments. For the remainder of today I'll be putting the final touches on my resume and composing my cover letters, each written specifically for the two positions I'm seeking.

I realize this post was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. In a way I felt like I was just listing the issues mulling through my mind about potential work. But sometimes that's what I use my blog for . . . to write my thoughts in order to help me make a decision more effectively.

In any case, thanks for listening (reading).

Blessings to all of you!

UPDATE!!!

About three hours after I posted the above information, I discovered that an Educational Associate position at a Hutterite Colony just 15 minutes away from our acreage has become available. I just e-mailed my resume and thank God for this potential employment opportunity. This position would enable me to be at home with the boys each morning prior to their bus departure, and they'd only have to be in daycare for 30 minutes at the most each day after school. I'm now leaving this in God's hands and as always, seek His guidance for our lives.

More on Tyrone . . .

Ty's day surgery has been changed from next Tuesday to next Thursday, September 6th. Someone else has a bigger emergency than Ty does, so he's been bumped down on the surgery list. So, the saga continues . . .