Saturday, January 07, 2006

Time to brush off the resume


A self portrait
Originally uploaded by Allan & Cheryl.

Starting next month - I'll be looking for a job. I'm 30 years old with 5 children ages 6 and under and have not worked since August of 2000.

I'm glad I've been able to stay home with the kids - I think that is important and the kids have benefitted. But the thought of having to go out and apply for jobs now terrifies me. I don't know why as had p/t jobs in high school and college. But now - with 5 kids - it's nerve racking.

But the fact is - our expenses are going up. We've had a year FULL of unusual expenses and a review of our financial situation, while not yet dire, shows we need to take some measures to prevent things from getting dire.

I've spent a number of evenings with spreadsheets and Thursday night was the final straw. The co-op board meeting where we disussed the budget. Lots of co-op expenses have gone up. The bottom line - our rent is going up a LOT effective either in Feb or Mar and it was a stretch for us to move here in the first place.

Life is going to be changing - last year we did a lot of adventures, we did a lot of travelling, bought a lot of things. This year is going to be a year of hard work and not much play because when we aren't working, we'll need to be taking care of the myriad of household chores that come along with having 5 children. Stuff we barely keep up with now! Gone will be the days of going to Vancouver, out to Manning or Golden Ears. This won't be the year for those trips. This will be the year where we'll mostly go out to Crescent beach for walks now and then - or take the children to local parks.

Now with 5 kids - I'm not looking for a day job. I'll be looking for something part-time that is either nightshift or evenings/weekends. I'll still plan on homeschooling the kids at least for the balance of this school year. So post-surgery - I'll be looking for p/t work and would welcome any tips on who might be hiring!

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