Saturday, May 24, 2008

Big Time News

Yesterday, the Executive Director of a very fine and very fancy company offered me a full time, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5ish, very lucrative job, with benefits.

Since I am no dummy I, of course, accepted!

Annnnd.....exhale!

This is the culmination of the "things" that have been happening around here.

I hadn't really been looking for a job like this. I was happy sitting in my basement sewing away, and looking for a part time, brainless job to pay the bills. I had something sort of in the works for the latter part of the summer. I was thinking about collecting EI. This just fell in my lap, was pretty much handed to me on a silver platter (thanks, platter!)

Since we moved out of the city 3 years ago, I've been struggling to find the right thing to do with my life. When Griffin arrived, all our priorities shifted. Suddenly we were responsible for this little human, one who's day to day survival, and who's future completely and utterly depended on us. We've been struggling through crappy paying part time gigs, and through choices that didn't work out, and none of it felt like it was worthwhile leaving my smiling baby boy for 8 to 10 hours a day with some stranger.

This feels different.

Don't get me wrong - ideally I'd be a stay at home mom, but it's not financially feasible for us right now, nor is it likely to ever be. SO, if I have to leave my kid to go to work, at least I can be going off to do something that I like, that feels worthwhile, that will make a difference, and gosh darn it, something that PAYS more than I end up forking out to the day care lady at the end of every week, with enough left over to buy more than a bloody Happy Meal!

As of two weeks from now, I WILL be leaving Griffin every day from 8 till 6 or so, and getting in my car to go to work. Suddenly I've become a commuter. (This is the least glamorous part of the job, and one that I hope is not the eventual cause of it's demise.) But the positives FAR outweigh the negatives here, and I'm keeping my eye on that.

My job, for the most part will be Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. My work WILL NOT follow me home, I can leave it at the door when I leave. I will be working in one of the most environmentally friendly, energy efficient buildings in the country. I will be doing something I already KNOW I'm good at, and doing it for a good cause. I will have resources to do my job. And last, but not least, I will be very well paid, and....I will have benefits!! (Benefits are a big deal to a couple of self-employed theatre folks with cracked teeth, let me tell you!!)

The financial ramifications for our family will be HUGE. We can stop guessing when the next pay cheque will come, and how much it will be for (Steve gets paid well, but SO irregularly that it seems to be feast or famine around here.) We will be able to dig ourselves out of debt, pay off some things that are dragging us down. Possibly even SAVE some money (what a foreign concept!) Maybe start to thing about building a future for our kid! Egads!

I will continue to doing any and all sewing that I can in my free time....I look forward to spending the long dark winter in my sewing room, especially now that we can afford to carpet the floor! Unfortunately, my doula work will have to go. I loved the little of it that I did, and ideally I would go back to it some day. I was wonderful at the taking care of moms and their babies part, I was less wonderful at the starting up my own business part, especially when I was so busy working 3 other jobs just to pay the bills.

So that's the big big news! It all feels very good, and very exciting, and just a little bit scary. I certainly hope it's as wonderful as I've made it out in my mind to be...but I'm pretty certain it is.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS! What a fabulous opportunity for both you and your family. It sounds like you have given your decision a lot of good thought and have come to a conclusion that will benefit you all in the long run. Yeah!

Anonymous said...

I am so happy that this has worked out for you. As I told you the other day on the phone - I really hope that you enjoy the job and that the commuting and hours are tolerable.

Sarah said...

Does this mean that we get to be ladies who lunch? Congrats Jenn!!

Lara said...

Congratulations!! What fabulous news!