Unemployment #1 and Unemployment #2 are over at my other blog, Excellent Adventure.
This morning, I am grateful that I am unemployed.
Aurora is cutting teeth. By this, I do not mean she’s teething. No. She’s doing exactly what Rowan did; running a fever so hot it’s scary, being listless and uncomfortable and unhappy, and simply waiting for the teeth to push through. Her gums are red and puffy, and she’s doing the diarrhea thing (thank goodness for EC!).
Last night, I think I got maybe three or four hours of sleep. In fifteen-minute bursts. And through it all, I was able to stay relaxed and groovy, understanding and empathetic. Why?
Because I am unemployed. Because I knew that I could take it as easy as I needed to today, catch up on naps as necessary, and just focus on alleviating her suffering. Had this happened just a few weeks ago, I’d be juggling childcare and meetings and hostile emails and not giving her what she needed to come through this. But as it is, we’re still in our jammies, hanging out. working on ways to make her more comfortable, catching up on sleep as we can. And it’s all good.
The world is a far more peaceful place this morning, simply because I am able to be present with my child. And that is worth more than a paycheck.
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I happened to quit a very part-time job I had at one point when ds was just a few years old. Long story – but suffice it to say that even though I loved the place where I was working and what I was doing (and had worked there for more hours per week before), it was obvious that something wasn’t quite working out for me to stay there.
And shortly after, I found out that ds had whooping cough. And boy, was I so glad that I no longer had to worry about work anymore because, as you mentioned with Aurora, I didn’t have to feel stressed about giving all my attention to him during a crucial time when he really needed it.