Interview of me by Galloping Cats (Part 2)

3. If having enough time with the kids weren't an issue, would you have a different job? If yes, what would it be?

This is a very tough question. Earlier this year, I toyed around with the idea of leaving where I work, the lovely non-profit place, and heading to a big company doing very cool stuff.

I had a serendipitous encounter with a person at the big company, and, I was hopeful she would follow-up after our two-hour initial conversation. She never returned my emails. In the time between meeting her and getting rejected (ala no returned emails) I wondered if I could go to big company. The big company is famous for its very generous compensation, but is equally famous for the demands it makes on employees to put in very long hours.

It would have been very cool to work at that big company. If I were ten years younger, I would have pursued it and tried my darndest to make it happen. Now, it's not the right time for me to work long and crazy hours. Now I want to hang with the girls.

I guess the answer to the question of, if having enough time with the kids weren't an issue, would I have a different job, is, maybe. I KNOW I would work more if time wasn't an issue. I like the work I do. A new job I'd get wouldn't be significantly different than my current one. Maybe with a little more pay, but maybe not.

Right now and always, I love hanging with my girls and they are my top priority. At some point, they won't want to hang out with me, and I will work more. Work is very important, but if I were forced to make a choice, they would win. It's another post though about what I've learned about myself and what I think would happen to me if I stayed home and didn't work. (Remind me about that later!)


4. I find the 5:00 rush, when I'm trying to get out of the office and home to Gatito, to be the most challenging, stressful part of the day. What is the hardest part of the day for you?

The hardest part of the day is when I come home from work and all 3 girls want my attention at the same time. When I walk in the door, it is often the case that they all are screaming "MOM, LOOK AT ME."

I love them, but the transition from the quiet stress of work to the noisy stress of home makes me want to run out the door. It's a shock to my system. It takes me 5-10 minutes to make the transition back to Mom.

It works for me to come in to all the girls watching a video. I don't think there is anything wrong with television in moderation. When they are watching, or engaged in some task, it helps so much. It eases me back into the Mommy-role. It lets me get my stuff put down, maybe even change clothes, maybe go to the bathroom... All the crazy things that make life a little better.


5. If you got a whole day to yourself, with no work and no kids, what would you do?

We'll make sure to note "NO WORK" in the question. I really like to work and I do it a lot. It's hard for me to make myself NOT work. I would have to make sure I was somewhat caught up, or even ahead of schedule at work before I could take a whole day to myself....

Here's what I'd do. If MWH could take the day off, I'd be delighted! Who knows what we'd do, but we'd have a lot of fun hanging out together. He and I really like hanging out.

If MWH was busy with work and I couldn't find a friend to play, I'd go workout, eat at a fav restaurant while reading a good book, go shopping for the perfect pair of jeans, and be amazed at how quickly 8 hours can go!

If a friend was available to play, we'd go get pedicures, eat lunch, and probably do a little shopping... maybe get some more black shoes ... Heh!