It's just about time to make a very, very big decision! A huge decision that really affects our whole future. I need to decide if I am going back to teaching or resigning from my job. There are so many pros and cons to both sides and I am really having a hard time figuring it all out. One thing I do know is that I have to decide soon or I'm going to go crazy thinking about it.
Right now I am working 3 jobs. Things are busy and hectic and crazy each week but I am really enjoying it. First of all, I am doing hair. The salon is finished and I have about 40 regular clients. In addition to my regulars, I am getting more and more interest each week. I have an average of 4 clients a week. The second job is working for my brother in law. He owns his own business and I have been doing office work for him. Its super flexible and I can work whenever I want. The job entails making phone calls to potential clients to follow up and try to get them to book the work to be done. From him, I get paid hourly and a commission for each job I book. The third job is the newest addition and I really love it so far. I am working for my chiropractor as his Public Relations CA. I am re-writing and designing the website, creating brochures/newsletters/marketing material, I help plan office events and reach out to the community to get them involved in the office. This job is also very flexible... I work from home and can go into the office whenever needed. Between the three jobs I am working almost every day but I love the fact that I make my own schedule and I am in charge of how much or how little I work from week to week. I have control over how much money I make and how hard I work. Plus I am really having fun, so I don't mind working a lot.
Here is a sample week with my current arrangement:
Monday- Ryan goes to my mother-in-laws for the day so I am super productive. This week I ran errands, grocery shopped, and went to the gym in the morning and then I had 5 hair clients from 2-8pm.
Tuesday- Home with Ryan in the morning, work at the chiropractor from 12-2:30, back home with Ryan in the afternoon, and then back to the chiropractor at 6pm for a meeting, then went to the gym at 8pm.
Wednesday-My mom came to watch Ryan for a few hours in the morning, so I went to work for the chiropractor from 11-2:30 and then went straight into the Waterproofing office from 3-7:30pm. I got home a little bit after 8.
Thursday- Pediatrician with Ryan at 10, dropped him off at my aunts for the afternoon, and went to work at the Chiropractor from 12-3. Then I had a hair client come to the house from 5:30-7.
Friday-Gym at 7:00am. I was home all day so I worked from home while Ryan took naps (from 9-10:30 and 1-2:30) and we went out to do some Christmas shopping from 11-1pm.
Obviously, this is a chaotic schedule and I am by no means a "stay at home mom". The hardest part about it is figuring out who will watch Ryan and when. We have been balancing it between me, Mike, my in-laws, my mom, and my Aunt Linda. But I have to say, this week I made significantly more money than I would for a regular teaching week. Here is the thing... some people might hate this kind of week but I am really HAPPY! The down side to this current situation is that there is no stability and no health benefits. It is a little bit scary to give up such a secure career like teaching and go into something so unreliable.
Now on to the teaching side of things. It's a great job, with great benefits, and I work with great people. But if you read my past post about going back to work, you know I was really not happy there. Being an English teacher is very stressful and very demanding. I was working from 6am-5pm and then coming home with hours of work to do. I would spend nights and weekends grading and planning and prepping. The students were getting to be very difficult and I spent most days dreading going to work the next day.
Honestly, I do miss the good kids at MTHS and I miss being part of the faculty there. I had a lot of great friends and I loved being part of the team. Its just that I really was miserable on a day to day basis. The problem is, if I don't go back to work on February 1 its a permanent decision. I would have to resign, back out of the pension system, and I would lose my spot as a teacher. If I ever wanted or needed to get back into the career, I would be with every other English teacher out there fighting for the very few jobs that become available. Its so scary to give that up.
So one option would be, go back in February and work through June, and then make a definite decision this summer. Of course its not that simple, if I go back to school I wouldn't be able to keep up with my current work situation. I would have to stop doing hair, quit the chiropractor, and not work for Jerome. I would be giving up everything I just worked so hard to get. Bottom line is... I can't put off the decision any longer. I either need to dive in full force to my new "career" or go back to my old career and say "thanks but no thanks" to my current jobs. ITS SOOO HARD.
Really, I know in my heart what I want to do. I have already made up my mind, but it might not be the smartest decision. Mike and I really need to have a business meeting and weigh the risks and benefits. I hope it works out and I end up in a spot where I am excited to start each day and I don't have the weight of dread on my shoulders every night when I go to bed.
I'll be back with the official decision soon!
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