I'm a working mom now. Joining the ranks of women who wear suits and sneakers. Or capri pants and flip flops. For days I have been dreading wearing real shoes, but there doesn't seem to be anyone in the office that minds the flipping and the flopping. Of course if I have to travel too far from my office or near the bosses, I put on a pair of grown up shoes. It is nice to know I can still walk in a heel. It has been about a year or so since I've tried it.
All is going almost to plan. I had intended to wake up at five, feed the baby, get our bags together while eating a pb&j, out the door by six, to the gym, grab breakfast, and get in the office by eight. True to form, Jake changed things up a bit by waking up at 3:45. Coffee beans aren't even awake that early. I don't know what we were thinking. After getting him fed and put back to sleep it was already ten to five, and it wasn’t worth going back to sleep. So, bags together, bottles made, some cuddle time, and out the door at 5:55 leaving father and son to fend for themselves. Suckers.
It was good to be back at the gym, where I saw a few friends that I missed. What they were doing there at 6:30 I don't know. It always amazes me that people are awake before eight. I splurged on a rental locker, so I can leave my sneakers and shower stuff there instead of lugging it around each day. I did a good job at packing everything and even remembered my lock combination, after about a day of thinking about it. It came to me while the lock was sailing through my bedroom into the trash can. Nothing like digging through dirty diapers to grab a $3 lock. I am hoping to get there early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I will take the lunchtime abs class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was warned about post-partum weight gain, but I thought it could never happen to me. Twice weekly BBQ's, sitting at home, weaning from nursing, and eating junk really catches up with you, and I am now 2 pounds above where I was before I got pregnant. I know that sounds obnoxious, but I was down about 6 or 7 under that weight at one point a few weeks after delivery. So, time to log in some serious hours on some sort of machine. I knew it would be a bit difficult to get back into a workout routine, but I was surprised at how exhausted I was after time on the elliptical. The day before I gave birth, I did an hour at level 4, and today I did a half hour at level one. It was hard! Now I know why people chose couch over exercise.
It was nice to stop by my favorite fruit truck before I went to work, then across the street to my pretzel guy. They were both happy to see me, and thought that I had taken my business elsewhere. No way would I do that, as you don't mess with street food. Once you find something clean you never go anywhere else.
Because I didn’t have time to clean out my desk before having Jake, I thought it would be looted of office supplies, but no one touched a thing. Not even my change dish or stock of prescription medicine. Unfortunately, no one thought to wash out my coffee cup or shred my highly confidential garbage document pile. Shame on me for leaving it there, but I was running late for that last doctor's appointment. My shelves were a HIPAA violation waiting to happen but my plants are still thriving and miraculously, mice didn’t make nests in my file drawer of shoes and sweaters. My cool and colorful gel pens are still here, and my little toys are still neatly lined up on my desk.
I knew today would be slow, but I didn’t know that it would be torturous. I don’t have any internet or database access for some reason, and IT is very slow in fixing the problem. I guess it is a network thing, so it may take some time. I am typing this on Word and will cut and paste later. The paperwork is slowly coming in, but the bulk of it is expense forms and cab vouchers that need my signature. I'm in charge of something again and people need my authority!
My co-workers have all welcomed me, some making a special trip to the office building for a hug and to make sure that I'm not crying. It is nice to feel appreciated at work especially by those who understand what it is like to leave a baby. Truth be told I am enjoying a break from Jake, but I'm sure that two weeks from now I'll be singing a different tune. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it here, but there are huge budget cuts in our program and we will find out whether we still have a job on the twentieth. Other agencies who do the same work have been drastically cut, and the story even made the newspaper. Pretty scary, seeing as our paper usually goes for the blood and guts stories, not employment and people news. Unemployment would be a mixed blessing for me, as I would get more time at home with the baby but of course there is that whole "no job" thing to deal with. Dave and I would be hard hit with the insurance benefits, but after working in social services for so long, I am pretty good at finding children's benefit resources.
I guess I should get back to work, or at least get outside for a few minutes, maybe I'll call Dave and see what he is doing for lunch. After all, today is our seventh wedding anniversary, which explains that horrible itch. I hope.
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