You Pinspire Me
I’ve been a little quiet on the blog for the last month, mostly since I found out that I got a job that I had applied for and would be starting said job on December 1st.
As you know, last spring my husband was accepted to Grad School, something that set off a chain reaction of pretty big events in our family – selling our house, becoming renters again and moving across town, my husband quitting most of his job and spending three days a week commuting into Toronto at 5am…
The last thing on our “How We Can Make This Crazy Life Change Work” check list was ME getting a job. A real, outside-the-house job that contributed significantly to our monthly budget. Not something I looked forward to a great deal; staying at home with my kiddos this past 4 years has been pretty awesome. I feel like it’s what I’m made to do – sure, I have some pretty unsatisfying days and find myself pretty grumpy from time to time about my job and the hours it requires, but it wouldn’t be a JOB if I didn’t feel that way, right? For 2 years, I babysat regularly to supplement our income, but since we moved I’ve just had our two kids and it feels like I’ve been on vacation!
Anyhow. Needs Must, so I applied for the custodian position at our church. If you’re part of a church or similar sort of organization, you probably know how long things like this can take – last December, I was approached to see if the custodial position was something I’d be interested in taking on. In February, I started working on Sunday mornings for the church, unlocking in the morning, turning lights on, all that jazz. In the spring, the church council put a budget together that included the custodial position. In June, the congregation voted in favour of said budget. In July, a job description was penned by the committee of administration, and in August, the call went out for applications. In September, I was invited to an interview, and in October I received a job offer valid for the first of December. That’s right, folks, this job is something that I’ve pretty much been in the process of getting for A FULL YEAR. mumble mumble mumble bureaucracy
So. I got the job! Yay! It’s not my dream job, but it’s a job that works pretty darn well for a busy family. The hours are flexible, for the most part, and I can take the kids with me while I clean and tidy – eliminating the need to get childcare. Whew – that makes a big difference in the budget!
With the reality of work looming in the not too distant future, I put pretty much everything on hold and played outside in the leaves with the kids. We’ve picnic’d in the unseasonably warm November sun. We’ve gone for bike rides, family walks, and swims at the local recreation centre. We’ve baked together, and I’ve taken the time to let the kids ‘help’ me make supper. In short, I’ve been making the most of my remaining days of ‘vacation’ before it’s back to the grind.
I hope you can forgive me – I’ll try to be a little more regular!
Jenn vanOosten
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Congrats on the new job, Jenn! I was the church custodian all through high school – it’s was a great job – so flexible. A word of warning: men are just as filthy at using the bathroom at Church as they are anywhere else. Eww. I don’t know why, but I had expected them to be on their best behaviour there. 🙂
That is super exciting for you. I AM HAPPY BECAUSE YOU ARE HAPPY. You have to do what you gotta do, right.
How’s it going? Was it a big adjustment? I hope the new job is going well!