Time is money ...
How much is your time with your kid(s) worth?
Imagine that you could work a flexible number of hours a week. Imagine that this is in addition to your regular income, so all your regular bills and (frugal) expenses are already covered. (This is a happy place to imagine, isn't it?)
How much time with your kids would you sacrifice in exchange for added income? What would you do with that money that you'd earned?
For example, I would work in exchange for professionals to come to my house and pack all my belongings for me for our upcoming move. I would walk away while someone else teaches my son to stand on his own, in order to avoid the stress and misery that packing this house would involve.
(Really, this is almost a priceless service for me.)
But once you're beyond that, how do you draw the line?
- Would you exchange a beautiful summer day in the park for a new pair of shoes? (I really needed a good pair of walking shoes.)
- Would you miss helping your child's vocabulary explode in exchange for a nicer, newer model of car? (Still not sure about this one)
- Would you trade a couple of harried mealtimes with two grumpy, hungry kids melting down for a new, digital SLR camera to take pictures of said kids? (Yes!)
It never works this way, of course. You're either in for an entire job or contract or you're out. You can't pick and choose the hours you'd like to work (usually) or the experiences you'd like to be part of or miss. Most families now need two full-time incomes and most employers haven't figured out the importance of offering flexible hours.
If you're lucky, you have a good caregiver (preferably a family member!) and you can balance both. I know that the key is to enjoy the moments you're there for and try not to stress (Mama-Guilt) over the moments you miss.
This morning, Nathan waved at me for the first time. I was happy.
p.s. I have picture somewhere to post. I just can't spare the time to post them!
Comments
why do you want a digital SLR? There are lots of great, less-expensive cameras out there that take fantastic pictures. Jenny's Avril Lavigne Canon Elph takes almost as good a picture as my big, fancy, multiple lens SLR. Seriously, unless I needed a lightning fast shutter response, completely manual control of the camera, or a super-long lens, I don't know if I'd spend the money on an SLR.
Oh, and PS, we were wrong on the french immersion school for the Hydrostone. It's St. Joeseph's-Alexander, NOT St Pats-Alexander. The latter is the one with the dead prostitutes, the former is a pretty decent school.
I'm a friend of Jenny and Andrew's, and I followed a link to your blog sometime ago. I must admit that I check it from time to time, mainly because your son and my son are the same age (and from what I can see, very similar in temperament!) but also because I really enjoy your writing. Your most recent entry is especially great. I will be going back to work in a couple of weeks and are fighting my own mom guilt/work anxiety issues.
You actually inspired me to start up a family blog for us. If you would like to spy on my little family you can go to sutherlandadventures.blogspot.com
Good luck with everything!
Carly
p.s. J&A can testify that I'm not a random crazy person, really.
I'm all over your blog now, by the way. Your little guy is super cute and actually does remind me a bit of Nate.
Maybe it's the 5 am energy and STARVING hunger that rings a bell.
Are you a friend of A or J's? 'Cause that would tell me whether you're crazy or not. Do you live in HRM? We're moving there, ya know!