Full Time, All the Time
with Britt Reints
Forget the 9 to 5; Full Time, All the Time is a blog about the mobile working life - when you have the freedom to work from anywhere and the responsibility of always having your smartphone turned on. Britt Reints works as a freelance writer while traveling fulltime in an RV with her husband and two kids. She explores balancing real-life bills with an unconventional work life, and finding time to maintain relationships with family and friends.
You can also find Britt at InPursuitOfHappiness.net.
School is officially out this week. Since I am a working mom to a preschooler, I don’t feel the stress of working through summer vacation. I don’t have school age kids who I need to find day camps or day care for the 10 weeks of summer so that I can continue to work.
Yet I still get mighty jealous of the SAHMs in my neighborhood who are spending these hot summer days at our local cabana club. It’s the only time of year that I feel any animosity towards the moms on the other side of the fence. Sure the grass always looks greener on the other side. But in the summer, there is also a pool over there and some freshly squeezed lemonade.
While I’m in my air conditioned office writing reports and trying to manage projects through the time of year where everyone seems to lose focus, my SAHM friend is packing up for a beach day with her three kids. Honestly, who would really choose to be inside in a boring beige office when the alternative is being outdoors under the gorgeous blue skies?
I’m sure my SAHM mom friend will have days this summer where she dreads having to spend an entire day with her kids with no help, no breaks, and no time to herself. Afterall, the grass is rarely better on the other side. It’s just different.
What are your plans summer vacation? How will you manage working through it? Are you taking time off to be a summer-time SAHM? Or are you staring out at the blue skies in your office like me?
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I hear you on the summer envy. Summer is my favorite time of year and it is hardest to be stuck in the overly air conditioned office this time of year. This is also the last year that I will have my daughter (almost 5) in a private day care / pre-K facility that not only caters to working parents hours but also is almost never closed and serves lunches and snacks every day!
Next year will be much more complicated, with scheduling camps for the whole summer, figuring out after-camp solutions if camp gets out before 5pm, etc. And next summer will be complicated by baby #2 as well, due this November.
What do I do to make it better? Well, on weekends we pretty much do fun things every day. We have birthday parties, family BBQs, trips to the zoo, go to the pool, host playdates at our house with a kiddie pool, etc. etc. The house stays a mess! Errands get done at lunch when possible. Cooking becomes simple and often on the grill outside.
We also take walks after work since it stays light later so my daughter can hopefully catch up with neighborhood kids before dinner. Basically, we make the most of every single second of the summer weekends!
Laura | June 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I would rather be in the air-conditioned office–but then, I’ve never liked the outdoors, or the heat! So I might not be exactly TYPICAL.
Summer for me means getting all my usual work done in a much noiser than usual house (I work from home) PLUS trying to give the kids a Satisfying Summer Experience.
But I do feel very, very lucky that I don’t have to arrange exterior summer plans for them: finding something during the day that lasts all the working hours must be a bit—, I mean bear.
swistle | June 24th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Robyn, I couldn’t agree with you more, I feel a lot of SAHM envy in the summer. I usually don’t even know what a beautiful summer day it is because as a WOHM I tend to work right through lunch.
My little girls are in the transition between preschool and kindergarten, so I did have to find 10 weeks of summer camp for them. But my 12yo is mostly home on her own, so I’m really missing out on time with her.
What I do enjoy, however, is slower mornings because older daughter doesn’t have to leave for school at 7:45am (although I tend to be later for work), no homework arguments, more evening time with the kids because it’s light out and bedtimes are relaxed, and popsicles every night for dessert!
krisc | June 24th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I work outside the home on most days, but yesterday I was off–picking up the kids at camp, bringing them and their friends over to our house for playdates, taking all the kids swimming. It was fun and I “wouldn’t trade it for the world”, but between us, I RAN to work today so that I could catch my breath!
Marinka | June 24th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Laura - Summertime BBQs are my mainstay in the the summer. Packing in those weekends with as much fun as possible. I looked at our calendar last night and we have something (or two) going on every weekend until August!
Swistle - there are benefits to being in an airconditioned place. There are times when I am mighty happy to run into my air conditioned office on those really hot days!
Krisc - I think I will die with a 7:45 school start time. I’m sure with 12 yrold is loving getting to sleep in! And go read my other post about taking back your lunch break!!
Marinka - I feel ya. I love to take family breaks and then I love to get back into my work.
robynroark | June 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pm