Psychic Powers: Check!

Friday, I got a call from daycare. They told me that Captain Adventure was ‘favoring’ his hurt arm, refusing to eat lunch and otherwise being pissy. @*^&@. For those of you keeping score at home, I had already taken Tuesday and Wednesday, two (2) days, off last week to tend his every whim. I was 98% certain he was faking it, but 2% unsure so I went to get him anyway.

Yup. Faking it. Big time. Hey, you know, grabbing the arm and whining got me extra cuddles and attention, right? Let’s try it again!

I have not had a full week’s work in, well…(casts back in mind, realizes mind is long-gone, consults wall calendar, duuuuuh, hmm, no still can’t…goes to Aztec calendar, still a little confused so goes with generality)…let’s call it ‘since Thanksgiving’.

And in the recent past? Ear infection, flu, cold, ear infection, center closed for Polyester Appreciation Day, whatever.

Every. Single. Week.

Without. Fail.

Add in the usual and customary baloney that goes along with being the Mother of Chaos and people – it is not pretty around here. I am working into the night and over weekends trying to keep up with my work commitments, and this impacts Everything Else and then suddenly I’m under a tidal wave of crazy-talk and really just want to go curl up in a corner and cry.

And then this morning, ONCE AGAIN, I had Captain Adventure home with me. Ear infection is impending, so I kept him home hoping that if I could keep his sinuses dry, I might head it off at the pass.

Now, I told you that so I could tell you this: My boss? Is psychic. I’m serious. {twilight zone music} Freaky.

This morning, after I had ONCE AGAIN emailed my ‘home sick with toddler’ missive to the troops, I was sitting with my laptop attempting to draft a resignation letter because, you know. Enough is e-@*^&@ing-nough. I don’t need to work to keep bread on the table and the roof over our heads. I like to work, and the extra money would be great (or I suppose I should say that if I kept any, after taxes and childcare, it would be great), but I don’t have to and I’m just adding endless complication to Life here…

I had gotten as far as, “Dear Boss…”

And, uh, that was it. I just couldn’t seem to get any further than that.

If I hated my job, it would be easy. If I disliked my boss or my coworkers, it would be easy. If I really didn’t want to work any more, it would be a cakewalk. But I don’t. It’s just that it really is coming to a point where my working is going head to head with my family’s needs – and, well, I have a proven track record where that’s concerned. I have my core values. I have my priorities. I know what I really value.

But…wah. Wannit all. WANNIT ALL! WAH!

So I had the ‘Dear Boss’ letter sitting there most of the morning while I tried to force my fingers to put something professional and succinct in there. (I am not succinct. Especially not when writing what equates to a Dear John letter. It’s not you, it’s me. Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys. I love you like family. It tears my guts out to say I need to leave you. But you deserve better. That’s how much I love you – I must leave you because you deserve better.)

My phone rang right in the middle of a tirade from Captain Adventure, who did not wish to take his cold medicine. I cannot blame the boy. He has been on this stuff for weeks now, and I believe he may both develop a deep, abiding aversion to the color purple and learn to talk just so he can call CPS and tell them I am making him a drug addict. “I’m serious, man, she’s been giving me so many hits of Triaminic…I don’t even know what year this is, dude…”

So it was a little while later that I went in and saw my message light flashing. It was my boss, letting me know that I have options with this company. Specifically, if I wanted to talk to him about switching to part time work, you know, so I could get some balance etc. etc., well. We’d work something out. If I wanted to talk about it, he was listening. If not, forget he ever called. It’s just a thought, just so you know, in case.

I swear, my first thought was, How did he know?!

Seriously. His call was not one of those ‘you’ve been out a lot and I want to punish you’ calls. It was like…he totally knew I was going off the deep end and about to walk, and he wanted to give me this other option before I did so. It was…well, it was both a professional call, and a call from a friend.

I’m going to talk to him about it tomorrow, when I have some peace and quiet in the Den. I think it may be an excellent solution, if we can work out the details such that my work schedule works around the school schedule.

If it works out, great! I make a little extra money from home without having my kids in daycare. If it doesn’t, great! I can make a leisurely exit rather than having to say, “OK, and daycare is over and I’m out of here in T-minus three days and counting – found my replacement yet? No? Oh. How about now? OK. {beat, beat} Now?”

Never a dull moment around here, huh?!