The start of something new

We have lots of exciting new things happening over the coming weeks, IK is starting school, CJ is starting nursery but before all that I am starting a new job tomorrow….eeeekkkk

After nearly 14 months of being a stay at home mum I am feeling both excitement and trepidation at the prospect of going back to work.

I have been really lucky to find a flexible job that will fit in around the times the girls are at school and nursery, meaning during term time I can drop the girls off and then be there to pick them up again. However as I am starting four weeks before the start of term I do need some extra help with childcare. The girls are spending some time with their Dad but I’m really grateful that my mum, sister and their other set of grandparents are also helping me out. So keeping my fingers crossed, everything should fit together nicely.

Since I was offered the job I have been focusing on the positives, becoming more financially independent, getting out the house for a few hours a week, meeting new people, and using my brain again for something more taxing than ‘what will we have for tea tonight’ Then it occurred to me, I’m going to have to use my brain for something more taxing than ‘what will we have for tea tonight’! After more than a year at home, what if everything I used to know, is no longer in my brain. What if I can’t still plan a work load, multi task and work as a team, as I said in the interview that I could. In fact this is the third time in last four and half years I have taken a year off work, meaning I have only worked a total of about 12 months since IK was born! But I’m hoping that it is like riding a bike and so I won’t have forgotten. (Although for the record I think I have forgotten how to ride a bike, so that is maybe not the best analogy!)

I know that the time I have spent at home with the girls over the last year has been really important. There has been a lot of change and insecurity and I think me being at home with them has helped all of us settle into our new home and lives. But now is definitely the right time for me to go back to work. This job is the first step in moving our lives forward; it is more independence for me and working towards my long term goal of buying us a house. But all that is for the future. My immediate concern is what should I wear tomorrow and should I take in my own mug!