I was a little slow on the up take here but I finally realized that I needed to clear up a misunderstanding Margo had about me leaving my job.
A friend of hers asked what I had gone to school for and to simplify it for her I just said that I had gone to be able to work for lawyers. I told her that I actually had worked for lawyers for a while.
So Margo pipes up and says “yes but you got fired because you had to stay home with me too many times”
At first I got kind of peeved because I’ve told her before that I did not get fired, I was offered another job and I took it. I felt insulted that she keep saying this to people.
It wasn’t until just today that I realized that she has been walking around thinking that she got me fired because she was sick too often. Like I said I was slow on the uptake.
So we had a very important conversation about how I had not been fired because of her.
Yes my job was threatened at one point because I missed time due to her being sick.
We still don’t know what had been wrong with her, the initial diagnosis was scarlet fever due to a rash and extreme fatigue.
Only she didn’t get better, and then her brother and I also got sick so we were all swabbed for strep throat.
We got better and she didn’t.
For weeks she was missing about 2 days of school every week. Cory and I alternated who would stay home with her.
Then came the blood tests to check for lyme disease, and I had the doctor measure a mole on her head that we have been keeping tabs on for years now. No lyme disease, and the mole was not concerning.
Leading up to this she had been doing trampoline lessons twice a week but we had to pull her because she couldn’t finish the sessions.
Over Christmas break she finally started to feel better and by the time she returned to school in January there was no issue.
Around November, which was when we started looking farther into it, I got called into my boss’ office. Where he proceeded to actually berate me for my decision that she needed to be around her parents during this time. Which was insulting from the get go; but while I disagreed with tactics I did understand his position. For the most part I like him, so I would have gotten over it. Except he then proceeded to tell me that I owed it to my children to keep this job. This low paying job, that required me to pay to park downtown and for daycare. This soul sucking job that had actually caused me so much mental duress that after many times of me refusing to take stress leave (because I thought I’d end up fired for it) my psychiatrist imposed a two week leave on me.
This was the job that he believed I owed it to my children to keep. I knew that day that I would leave.
It took four months to get another offer but I did. This job meant I was home for the kids. No daycare, No downtown parking, in fact quite often on the days that my children did have to stay home my co-workers don’t even know.
There was absolutely no question as to which job I would choose.
Life threw us a curve ball as it often does and I’m no longer at that job either. I have not ever regretted my decision though.
Being a mother to Margo and Atticus made me the person that I am.
Every family is different and their priorities are their own but I chose mine, they call me mom.
XOXO Alice
