Holidays and Retail Life

I have worked in a retail setting my entire working life.  It still, to this day, amazes me that people can get worked up about a store being closed for one day.  One day!  And this time it's even in the middle of the week - with work days on both sides.  I'm pretty sure you aren't going to die because you didn't buy milk, and I'm sure you really need that toothpaste or else all your teeth will fall out tomorrow.

Now over Christmas - that can be a different story.  Depending on where the holiday falls there can be up to 4 days off in a row in some cases.  But still - plan a smidge ahead people!  You can plan your company, your food, and your travel, but you can't realize you're going to run out of your prescription?  It's not that hard.

My other favourite thing is the people who seem surprised we (people in the retail world) get a holiday off.  I know not all stores are closed for a holiday, but where I have worked for the last 14 years we have closed for every holiday.  Every holiday!  Why is this now a surprise, here, today, when tomorrow is another holiday?

Sadly (sort of) this Canada Day falls on a Wednesday.  What do we already know about Wednesdays?  They're my regular day off.  This is great in that I get the day off and I get paid this week, but not so great is that my family is home and we're having company (that's not the bad part) so I won't get my usual home-work done this week.  You know, laundry, tidying, vacuuming, grocery shopping, even the gardening I try to fit into my "quiet" day.  Of course this is greatly outweighed by the family who is coming to help us build a fence tomorrow (thankyouthankyouthankyou!) and visit and eat and all that.  But my week feels incomplete if I don't fit in some time for me, you know?

Anyway, to sum it all up, I'm happy my workday is over today - it was busy in spurts, and frustrating in spurts, and I felt like unplugging all the phones - I'm looking forward to some extended family time tomorrow, and I'm hoping desperately it doesn't rain all day.  That will make for some grumpy fence builders, and cooped up kids.  The city has so many fun things planned for tomorrow it will be sad if they have to be cancelled because of weather.

What do you have planned for your mid-week holiday (or July 4th celebrations, Yanks)?  I hope all my readers have a great time doing what you do!

Toodles!

Old Friends Becoming Mom (or Parent) Friends

I am ridiculously excited. I have a coffee date tomorrow with a friend (who I love!) that I have not really spent any time with since before I had kids. My oldest child is now 6 so it's been a while. She has also had 2 girls in the intervening years so my pre-child friend is fast becoming an awesome mom friend.

This friend of mine has spent all of her time over the last few years completing a degree, often by correspondence, while having babies and toddlers and of that. She just recently finished up and I am so excited for her, not to mention in awe of the things she has accomplished during the very young child phase of her life.

Her daughters dance at the same studio as mine and now with this crazy rehearsal schedule we've been running into each other more. I was so glad she was as keen as I was to get together!   I've tried reconnecting with other old friends with much less success.

In case you can't tell I am very much looking forward to this coffee date. Partly because I'm going to indulge in some fancy (expensive) coffee and snack, and partly because I miss sitting with my friends and just talking.

I hope this is the beginning of my return to doing the things I used to do all the time before kids. Of course the things will be modified and changed to fit my current lifestyle, but so will be the people I hope to do these things with!


Toodles!

Working Mom Stress

I am currently quite content with my work life/home life balance.  I work 4 days a week with my day off being Wednesday, which breaks up the week quite nicely.  I use my day off for fun things like laundry, groceries, vacuumming, general tidying and sometimes (only sometimes mind you) a haircut or waxing appointment. The kids are at school and daycare, but I usually collect them early so we can get homework done and have some time together.  It's been working out very nicely.

Now one of the girls at work has given her notice and we will be short staffed on Wednesdays.  Logical that I would jump back into the Wednesday shifts I worked a year or more ago.  But I don't want to - and I have a boss who asks your opinion (usually) before big changes are made, which is great, but saying I don't want to work Wednesdays does not mean I will not get scheduled on Wednesdays.  I've already given a list of days I'm unavailable, based on appointments and plans made earlier under the assumption that I wouldn't be working those days - and that actually turned out to be almost half the Wednesdays of the summer.  I do hope boss-man does think about hiring someone part-time.  I'm feeling serious anxiety about the whole thing.

To top it off, eldest daughter is enrolled in a modelling/acting/talent course at an agency, and when she completes that (at the end of July) they will be marketing her for jobs in that arena.  That means there's the potential for auditions and such in Toronto or other areas that we would have to plan around with short notice.  Also not looking good for short-staff problems at my workplace.  I did inform boss-man of this as well, in hopes of enticing him to think seriously about hiring other help.

Toodles!