Working Mom Guilt *Part One*

I started working when I was 17 in order to pay for car insurance. Of course it was only a part-time, after-school job, but it was a job. I worked at a Smoothie King and as far as jobs go, it wasn't bad. I was there for probably a year and then began working at a restaurant, which I enjoyed a bit more since the pay was better. After that I held another waitress job and worked at Smoothie King again (new location).

Then I got married, pregnant and moved to Savannah since Hubs was now an Army Ranger (and maybe not in that specific order). I was fortunate enough to not have to work during my first pregnancy (aka Peanut/Kaitlyn). I was lucky enough to be able to stay home with my baby after she was born. We were lucky enough to have enough income to support us, a house to live in (on the Army base) and health insurance. When Peanut was two, I got pregnant with Bugga and was lucky enough to stay home through that and after he was born (though with a toddler at home, I wouldn't say I didn't work :). When Bugs was about 1.5, hubby and I thought that maybe I should give work a try, just to supplement our income.

Considering my lack of experince in ANY job field over the past 5 years, i was skeptical that I would get hired anywhere (other than McDonald's). I was even more skeptical that I would land a flexible, part-time job. I answered a Craigslist ad for a secretary at a small law firm (two female lawyers - one with 20+ years experience, the other her paralegal who had just recently passed the GA Bar). Duties were mostly to file and mail with the potential to move up when New Attorney's work load increased.

I interviewed and the paralegal/new attorney liked me, but wanted to second interview with big boss/seasoned attorney (whom I was informed could be intimidating). In fact, I was told that new attorney liked me, but was afraid I was 'too nice."

I interviewed with big boss and she seemed to like me, but wanted a writing sample.

I emailed a writing sample the next day and the day following that, I got a call asking when could I start?!

The schedule was as flexible as I needed it to be. They only wanted me for about 20 hours per week, and as long as I did my work, I could set my own schedule. 10-3? Sure. 9-5, no problem. It was awesome. They were both moms, so they understood my need for flexibility. And we all got along great.

Though I had the flexibility to determine my own hours, there were some days that I had to be in the office from 9-5 (rare, but on occasion).  So it did not take long for "Mommy Guilt" to kick in.  It was mostly because I would not get to Kaitlyn's school until 5:30/6:00 and the sun would be setting and time dwindling away.  The guilt wasn't as bad as I thought it may be, as I had read on other blogs.

I worked there for 6 months until we moved to New Orleans.  I was fortunate again to find an awesome job, albeit a FULL-TIME job.  8:30 - 5. WOW! Big time change.  However it was a necessity.  Hubby was out of the military and going to start at Loyola in the Fall.