By Staff
Leada Gore, Editor
Coming back to work after maternity leave has been rough. It's hard enough to leave that sweet baby each day. It's even harder to get the husband up, the dog fed, the baby's things together, and me dressed and out the door with any semblance of being on time.
It was so bad the other day that my husband swore I kissed the dog goodbye and patted him on the head. He's probably right.
Still, I'm fortunate. My sister-in-law is keeping Sutton so I have more flexibility in the childcare area than many. And, my job isn't a typical 9-5 post, so it does allow for some leeway there.
Flexibility. That word has taken on a whole new meaning in the modern workplace, for both working moms and dads. There's all sorts of telecommuting and working-from-home going on, allowing parents to get their tasks done while still maintaining – you guessed it – flexibility.
While I was out on maternity leave, I was able to tap onto our system here and do most everything from home.
The plus side is you're working while wearing your pajamas, which is a very good thing. The downside to that is you feel like you're always at work.
It's amazing the things you can get done when you have to adapt. Soon after Sutton was born, I learned to type, do laundry and cook one handed. The typing part was easy, as long as no one expected any capital letters. I just let people know they would be receiving these strange emails because my fingers weren't long enough to reach the shift key and the letters at the same time.
Laundry wasn't too bad, either, except for the times when you had to hold down the pump on the big vat of laundry detergent, something that wasn't easy when you're trying to manage a wiggly infant who doesn't want to be put down at that moment.
It was cooking that proved the biggest challenge. I love to cook and was looking forward to the opportunity to try some new receipts while I was on leave.
I should have known better. Instead of Rachel Ray's "30-Minute Meals" I had Leada Gore's "One-Handed Creations."
I did manage to bake a cake, cook a couple of meals to freeze and scramble an egg or two, all one handed. It came to a head one night however, when I met Greg at the door, purse in hand, and announced I was giving up and all of us were going out to eat that night. It was at the restaurant I learned I was pretty good at eating using only one hand, too.
I'm sure things will get easier and my schedule will become more routine and thus more manageable. In the meantime, however, I will have to be more flexible, especially when it comes to the one-handed thing.