It’s almost noon on a Thursday and my “work day” is only just beginning. I’d like to dream that I’m starting late because I’m still very much in holiday mode, was able to enjoy a sleep-in, and have simply tumbled out of bed after a gloriously refreshing rest, and am now sitting at my laptop in my pyjamas, holding a mug of hot coffee, and my fingertips itching with lots of amazing, inspiring words to write.
Not so.
My day began at 2am, thanks to an ill and feverish one-year old. It took almost 2 hours to settle him, so I’ve barely had any sleep. He keeps refusing medicine so I pretty much have to force it down his throat, which is heartbreaking (especially at 3am), but better that than forcing a suppository up his bum (which is exactly what a nurse had to do last Sunday when his fever hit 40°C and nothing – not even undressing him completely and wiping him down with a warm wash cloth – was getting his temp down).
So my “work day” is beginning late because I’ve dealt with snot, fevers, clinginess, school lunches, school drop off, and a morning visit to the GP to make sure Mr 1’s never-ending fever and lack of appetite or weight gain is nothing to be overly concerned about. (Diagnosis: Fever is likely to be a common viral infection, keep the doc posted. Lack of appetite and weight gain puts Mr 1 well under the curve and we’ve been referred to a paediatrician. Coz I needed more things to stress out about).
Needless to say, life since our return from our Hawaiian holiday has been quite the downer. What I would give to be back on a tropical island, sipping coconut juice and watching my kids play in the sand.
Instead, I’m trying to work out whether I can delete all the emails that arrived while I was away, whether it’s possible to squeeze in time to complete this week’s freelance workload while nursing a sick infant back to health, getting Mr 5 back into the rhythm of getting up, going to school, and going to bed at a reasonable time each day, while I also prepare for my return to my part-time 9-5 day job. Which is happening on Monday. Cue the tears.
Yep, that’s right, I’m heading back into the workforce.
I’m hoping that unlike the first time I returned to work after a year of maternity leave, this time won’t be as huge a shock to my system; the freelance gigs that have kept me writing and creating for the past couple of months were a nice way to ease my brain and body into work. What is going to be unavoidably unpleasant is having to wake up at 5am and spending at least 90 minutes (each way) on public transport, commuting to and from our office. As much as I love my job, company and team, I’m finding it really hard to look forward to that experience.
So not only am I dealing with the standard post-holiday blues that come with leaving behind blissful 24°C mornings, ocean breezes and stunning sunsets, I’m also bracing myself for the big shift that comes with:
- having to leave my kids in the care of someone else for a few days a week,
- having to get dressed and look presentable before actually starting work, and
- being in the company of more than two adult humans in the same room at any one time on a regular basis.
Eeek!
Upside: I will at least be earning some steady income that will allow us to pay for our new house. Which, btw, still hasn’t started (more on that later – kill me now).
For now, I’ll just leave you with a few pics of Hawaii. Because let’s be honest, if I could, I’d just pack up my whole family and move to a tropical island and spend every day sipping piña coladas and eating freshly cooked garlic shrimp at the beach. Wouldn’t you?
