Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back to Work I Go!

Happy new year all. 2008 was a wild ride, but I have guarded optimism for 2009. Why? A new president will be taking office a little less than three weeks from now, and I got a job. After over a year of searching, a job offer was finalized on Tuesday of this week and I start work this this coming Monday. The job is full-time which means more income, but less time for blogging. I have every intention of keeping this blog up and running but updates will have to be less frequent so I can continue to spend time with my family and get my household chores done.

I'm delighted to be getting back to working as a biologist. This is what I spent four years in school for, and ultimately the work I am best qualified to do. Having the extra income will be a huge relief for us as a family, particularly after a year of more or less living on just one salary. After laying out a large amount of our life savings doing a badly-needed upgrade to our kitchen and then watching another large chunk of it disappear in the stock market melt-down, it will be nice to build the coffers up a bit.

Another part of me is a little sad though. I haven't worked full-time since late 2002 when I quit work to take some pressure off of Steve during a stressful period at his old job, and to make myself more available to the kids. I'll no longer be able to see Weston out the door in the morning, drop Garrett off at his classroom, or pick the kids up after school. I will deeply miss these little rituals. I'll also miss having the pooches and the cat as my only office mates. I'm hoping my new human companions will be as easy to get along with (but less prone to flatulence).

On the other hand I know our family is very fortunate not only to have escaped any job loss, but to have added a second income during these tough times. I will keep all of you up-to-date on my process of transition from work-at-home mother to full-time bread winner. Thanks for your faithful readership over this last few months, and may 2009 bring good things to your household to0.