I always (rightly or wrongly) feel like people don't really quite understand when I say that I am working when I'm at home during the week. I feel like when I tell people that I work two days a week in my regular job and that my Husband works three days a week in his, but that we work from home the rest of the time, people must think we have loads of spare time to just hang out as a family and do whatever we like, whenever we like. Whilst part of that is true - we do get to have lunch pretty much most days and we do have the flexibility to re-arrange things around so that we can have a family day out together during the week. It's also not quite as relaxing as it sounds.
Adam and I always discuss how incredibly lucky we feel to be able to get to see each other as much as we do and that we get to be able to work part time in our regular jobs. We know that a lot of other young families don't get to see each other as much as they'd like and we really do count our blessings each and every single day for it. The fact that we both get to see Ethan (and hopefully baby #2) growing up and achieving milestones is something we feel eternally grateful for.
But, as much as we love our lives right now, we certainly don't have it 'easy' and we're definitely not 'off of work' when we're at home - in fact family days 'off' are pretty much non-existent towards the end of the year when Adam's work picks up and our entire house looks like an over-crowded warehouse, full of more cardboard than you have ever seen. Every room jam packed to the point that you quite literally cannot move in them.
And though we both enjoy spending as much time as possible with our little man - juggling a toddler between us whilst both having outstanding work commitments every day isn't an easy task. He doesn't understand that Mummy and Daddy have to work, he doesn't know what money is or what bills are, and so he shouldn't at his age. And so we juggle, Adam will take Ethan out or do activities and play at home with him whilst I work and the other way around (depending on who's work load is more urgent).
So that Ethan gets the most of us and we get the most of him during the day and because our workloads are often much busier than we are able to fit in during daytime hours, Adam and I will also spend most of our evenings working separately too.
I really love being able to earn money from doing something that I love so much and so does Adam. I also love being able to see my family so much and the flexibility that working from home brings. I worry constantly about things that are out of my control going wrong and forcing me to do something else, because I really do love our lives so very much.
I don't mind the heavy workloads, or the late nights and early mornings. I don't mind having to juggle four jobs between us, a toddler, being pregnant, four cats and a house that always needs hoovering (thanks cats!). I don't mind rooms in our house looking like warehouse's or the fact that even though we have a three bedroom house, we don't currently have a room for baby #2 to call his own, because the room we do have is one that you can't actually move in other than to get to the desk. I don't mind not having weekends or set days 'off' with Adam as a family or the fact that we don't have many evenings together anymore. And when I think about, as much as I think that I mind that whilst I'm writing this, Adam and Ethan are at the park on their own together again whilst I schedule blog posts ahead of Ethans birthday tomorrow... I don't actually mind because I know the alternative would be going to work for someone else full time, whilst Ethan goes off to nursery and someone else gets to enjoy my little boy growing up. But whilst I don't really mind any of this and whilst I am eternally grateful for Adam and I to do what we do, it doesn't mean that it's not a lot of hard work.
We're insanely busy most of the time, but we both know just how important it is to take time off together when we can. Family time is what makes life worth living, being with Ethan and Adam is the most important thing in the world to me and I know that Adam feels the same way about us and it's why we can't wait to grow our family with baby #2's arrival in June. We love the moments, when it's just 'us', when we're not juggling, when we're not worrying about emails that need replying to or impending deadlines. Our favorite moments, are like everybody else's - the moments that we're on 'time off' and when in that moment, nothing else matters.
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