I realized today that it's been nearly two years since I left the 9-5 world behind. While I worked casual part-time through most of my pregnancy, started school ten months ago, have been performing, writing & sewing for my Etsy shop at various times in the last year, I haven't had a regular full-time job outside the home.
I do miss the routine in a way--every week was more or less the same, few surprises. I just woke up at 7:30ish every day, got ready, biked downtown, stretched & changed, then worked. Repeat in reverse 6-8 hours later.
Fast-forward to university student life with a toddler, where each weekday is different: Monday's my long day, with classes up the hill from 10:30 to 5:20. With the one-hour commute, I need to get up at 7 to get myself & Sprout out the door by 9 for daycare drop-off. Wednesday I only have a single 50-minute class & Sprouty's Nana & Grampa take care of him, which means getting out the door at the same time as Monday, but both of us riding the train to Burnaby to meet them at Lougheed Mall. The four of us generally have lunch before Sprout & I head back home. Thursday my class is in the afternoon but I'm rarely organized enough to bring Sprout to daycare & get up there early to study.
Tuesday & Friday are the days I try to cram in playdates, appointments & sewing. I never really get any school work done. Concentrating on a chapter about clause structure or trying to analyse the length & frequency of a vowel in Praat are not that compatible with caring for a toddler. Somehow, just keeping up with the diapers, meals, breastfeeding & getting Sprout to nap once a day, is all I can manage. Studying while he's asleep rarely occurs. This is partly because he often sleeps when we're walking or taking the 2-3 connection transit rides that eat up a large chunk of my waking hours, but also because I usually just want to take a break when I'm not on mama duty.
I'm looking forward to next semester when my school schedule will likely move to full-time daycare & my weekdays will be more alike. I won't wake up in the morning trying to figure out where & when I need to go, who with & what to pack...
I do miss the routine in a way--every week was more or less the same, few surprises. I just woke up at 7:30ish every day, got ready, biked downtown, stretched & changed, then worked. Repeat in reverse 6-8 hours later.
Fast-forward to university student life with a toddler, where each weekday is different: Monday's my long day, with classes up the hill from 10:30 to 5:20. With the one-hour commute, I need to get up at 7 to get myself & Sprout out the door by 9 for daycare drop-off. Wednesday I only have a single 50-minute class & Sprouty's Nana & Grampa take care of him, which means getting out the door at the same time as Monday, but both of us riding the train to Burnaby to meet them at Lougheed Mall. The four of us generally have lunch before Sprout & I head back home. Thursday my class is in the afternoon but I'm rarely organized enough to bring Sprout to daycare & get up there early to study.
Tuesday & Friday are the days I try to cram in playdates, appointments & sewing. I never really get any school work done. Concentrating on a chapter about clause structure or trying to analyse the length & frequency of a vowel in Praat are not that compatible with caring for a toddler. Somehow, just keeping up with the diapers, meals, breastfeeding & getting Sprout to nap once a day, is all I can manage. Studying while he's asleep rarely occurs. This is partly because he often sleeps when we're walking or taking the 2-3 connection transit rides that eat up a large chunk of my waking hours, but also because I usually just want to take a break when I'm not on mama duty.
I'm looking forward to next semester when my school schedule will likely move to full-time daycare & my weekdays will be more alike. I won't wake up in the morning trying to figure out where & when I need to go, who with & what to pack...
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