working mama: reduced hours and a new position

since returning from maternity leave for the second time, i've been thinking about making some changes in my professional life. while i've been grateful for my wednesdays off the last 3 years, i've been feeling like i am missing out on so much with my kids when i am at work and longing for more time with them during the week. adding ashford to our family has made me realize even more how fast they are growing up and how i will never get this time back. reducing my hours at work was not an option in the past. i was already working the minimum number of hours at my job to keep my health insurance - something that was essential because adding the kid(s) and me to thatcher's health insurance at his old job was insanely expensive. but his new job allowed us to revisit the conversation again. 

i had lunch with my boss last week to discuss things and he was 100% supportive of my wishes. so starting next week i will be going down to 20 hrs/wk. that would be a big change in itself, but there's more! after being in marketing for almost 8 years, i'm switching roles within the company. i am going to become the business manager, which means i will be taking care of things like payroll, benefits, client billing, etc. our current business manager is going to focus on client care, so she will still be around to help me learn everything. 

this new schedule means a couple changes on the home front. i will now be home with the kids 2.5 days/wk, which left us with some decisions to make about childcare for the other 2.5 days. we talked it over with our parents and with their willingness to take care of the kids while i work, we've decided to part ways with our home daycare provider. we will miss her as she has taken care of azalea since she was 3 months old. we are hoping to enroll azalea in a preschool program this fall, a couple days a week. 

i've said it before and i'll say it again, i am so grateful to work for such a family-friendly company. they put so much emphasis their employees' happiness, which is so refreshing and i do not take it for granted! i'm looking forward to lots of trips to the park, wading pool, etc. with my babies this summer! 

Comments

Diana said…
That's so wonderful Melissa! I imagine you'll never regret spending more time with your kiddos. I hope the new role in the company is as much fun as marketing, too! :-)

(And no Baby Barr yet!)
~Dawn~ said…
I am so happy for you Melissa and your family! This will be such an amazing change for you. What a great company you work for!
Wow! So many exciting changes for your family! I hope all the transitions go smoothly! I know you are going to love spending more time with your kids.
Brittany said…
So exciting for you! That is so great that your company is flexible and willing to work with you.
Kelly B. said…
Congrats!! This is so exciting! Kids are a ways off for us but this is definitely something I think about- I'm the only female attorney at our firm so I have the luxury/curse of being able to hopefully propose some creative working solutions. We'll see! but yay for you!
JJ said…
congrats on the new job! so exciting.

What a great company/boss that is being so flexible with you about wanting to stay home with the kiddos. They will appreciate it so much once they get older.

My mom was a single parent and I would have loved to have more time with her growing up. I spent most of my childhood with my grandma so my mom could work and provide for us.
Becky said…
Wow! That's exciting. I'm happy for you - and quite jealous too (sorry, but it's true). What a great opportunity and balance.
Carolyn said…
OMG!!!!!!!! YAY! I'm so very happy for you!!!!!
Bridget said…
So happy for you...You really are getting the best of both worlds now :)
Katie said…
Thats great news! Im so happy it worked out for you!!
Sarah said…
Yay! What great news! So jealous you guys can make this work!
Sarah said…
LETS HANG OUTTTTTT.
ajs {of MN} said…
how exiting!!!! :D i love that you have the option of your parents helping out as well- what a fun & exciting change and at the right time of year, now bring on the warm weather!!

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