One of my goals was to find a job that I am happy to get up to every morning, something I love to do and something that I find personally rewarding. Obviously I would need to find something that offered me a good work life balance. My current job is good, school hours and term time only, part time, but it's not perfect. For starters, it doesn't allow me to drop off my daughter at school in the morning. Thankfully I've found a way around that and I share drop off responsibilities with a good friend, but I really do feel like I miss out. I know that I'm lucky, with the economy the way it is a lot of people don't have jobs. Mine is close by, reasonably flexibile, fits in fairly well with family life.... but it's not what I ultimately see myself doing, especially since I'm facing a salary cut from September.
The pay cut and the arrival of baby Marshmallow have started me thinking of other options. Thankfully the UK has very good maternity pay, especially compared to the US. I'm hoping to stay at work as long as possibly before I give birth. I'm sure I'll regret the decision in July but the longer I hang on, the longer I'll get paid. I've also started looking into the possibility of offering childcare from my home. Our village school doesn't offer before or after school care and amongst my friends in the village there is a definite need for childcare outside of school hours. I'm hoping to get myself set up for September so that I can earn a little extra money on top of my maternity pay and build up my reputation and experience for the following year, when I hope to be able to run a successful childminding business.
Is this what I saw myself doing 10 years ago? No. Absolutely not. But it's what works for my family and what works for me. It just goes to show how much one, or two little people can change your whole outlook on life.
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