Mummascribbles – Life got a bit easier! – Mummascribbles

I’m sure that you have seen me mention several times on this blog about the fact that I have to do all of the childcare runs on top of my commute and normal working hours.  About how stressful I find it and how much easier life would be if my other half just worked a little bit closer to home.  

Well. Things have changed! 

A few weeks ago my other half started a new job. I was so proud of him for getting it in the first place and even though it’s just a one year contract, it’s the most important year for it to be happening.  

When on that first week, he came home and said he’d got some good news, I didn’t know what it would be so soon into his start date! I could have jumped with joy when he said the words:

“I think I can help you out with the nursery runs from now on”. 

We sat and discussed it and bless his heart, his reasoning was that I could have a couple of lay ins each week but my immediate thought was that I can change my working hours and no longer be late into the office.  

Because I am late.

Every day.  

I never used to be, there just seems to be so much more traffic on the roads these days and it’s getting harder and harder to get a three and a half year old out of the door on time in the mornings. While nobody at work has said anything, I know that I get in late and leave on time and so the guilt has been mounting up.  

We agreed that we’d do a two week trial period time make sure that he gets to work on time and that the buses don’t let him down (he doesn’t drive) and I spoke to my manager who agreed that we could try it out.

And so it begun. On the Monday I was getting in for 9 instead of 8.30 and I was on time. On the Tuesday, I walked with the boys to the bus stop and continued on to the train station to get into work at 8.30 and I was on time! I then text the other half at 9.30, the time he was hoping to get into work and he was at his desk. I haven’t been stressed getting in so far and it’s a wonderful feeling. Especially being pregnant because I’m going to start getting slower soon! And it means that when I leave work at 4.30 or 5pm on the dot, I don’t feel bad.

And you know what else is great? Because not only is his travel half an hour less, his working hours are also half an hour less and that means he’s getting home earlier. He used to get home just after 7pm and now he’s getting in at 6.30. And on one night I got home to find out he’d left just a few minutes early and got home at 6. He’d fed the rabbits, hung the washing up and got everything ready for cooking dinner. Zach had already fallen asleep in the car so we took him straight to bed, we were eating dinner by 7.30, watching Walking Dead  by 7.45 and when it finished at 8.30, we put another one on. And got ready for bed at 9.30!

Now that won’t happen all of the time. Ideally I don’t want Zach to fall asleep that early because he then woke at 10.30, 11 and 12.30 and was then up at 5.15! But we had a lovely long evening and it just means in general that we have daddy home for longer and mummy is less stressed.  

The two week trial period is over now and it’s still going really well. Even when he had to walk back to the station instead of get the bus and even when the bus turned up late, he still made it to work by the time he needed to.

I won’t lie, after almost 3 years of doing the nursery drop off, there was part of me that really missed dropping Zach off on that first Tuesday morning! I didn’t miss the slow traffic home though before having to run for the train! The only negative thing about it has been Zach – for he has cried at the bus stop a couple of times while he can see me walking away from him. That broke my heart a little bit but the whole thing is so much easier on me and I know he is absolutely fine with his daddy! He’s just having a mummy moment! 

I have now agreed with work that this will be happening until I go on maternity leave in August and it feels so good to know that I don’t have as much rushing around to do. Of course, there are someties delays so I’m still ruddy late, last week my train was cancelled and this morning the Victoria line was down! Those things though, they aren’t in my control! 

I’ve been nominated for ‘working parent blogger of the year’ at the mumandworking awards. If you’d like to vote for me just click on the image below to take you to the voting form!