Abby and I survived her first week of daycare. She is just enrolled part time for this month and we will hopefully start full time next month because hopefully I will be gainfully employed.
I spent all of Tuesday morning driving around handing out resumes. I had one interview on the spot which was a little encouraging. I had a good conversation with the deli manager at Thrifty's which quickly went south when he inquired about my availability. I informed him I am a single parent and unfortunately my availability is based on the availability of childcare. He said he couldn't hire someone for Monday to Friday days because it wasn't "fair" to everyone else. I disagreed with his definition of "fair." I don't know how many of them are single parents of a toddler, but I would assume none of them are if they are more employable than me solely based on their time flexibility. I wanted to punch the guy in the face but instead politely explained it wasn't by choice. I mean it's not like I'm being some sort of prissy princess who just wants her evenings free because I assure you my evenings are not free.
I had this response at a few other places too. Men and women will only be truly equal when we have accessible affordable childcare in this country. Even with couples who raise children as a team, someone still has to make the sacrifice. I also had quite a number of places (like all the banks) tell me they only accept applications online which I also think is crap, especially when you are hiring for a customer service position. I know when I used to hire, a resume was only part of the picture. I liked to look someone in the eye, see how they presented themselves, and get an idea of how they were going to represent the company to the customer.
I sent in a bunch of online applications. I am trying my best to stay positive. I hate job hunting, there is so much effort for so much rejection. I tell myself so far things are working out. I was worried about where we would live and we found an amazing place for a great price. I was worried about daycare and I found a good one that Abby loves that is also affordable. So I remind myself that I will find a job that pays enough, it is the final piece. I hold this faith and put my energy out into the universe.
I applied for a whole bunch of different things. From customer service manager at Wal-Mart to Food inspector, to reading gas meters (which actually sounds like a kind of cool job). I applied for about eight jobs with the Vancouver Island health authority, everything I was qualified for, like housekeeping, and food services. Any of those would be pretty cool too, as they pay well and I would really like to be in a different environment than retail. Not that I dislike retail, I love talking to people all day, I am just ready for a change of scene.
Abby loves her daycare. I literally dragged her out of there kicking and screaming on Tuesday. Wednesday I left her there a little later and she was ready to come home. When I dropped her off, she hugged me, waved bye bye, and ran in to play with her friends. When I picked her up, she hugged me, waved bye bye to her friends and sat down to put her boots on and come with me.
It's really nice to hang out with her in the evening when she has had a full day of fun and games with kids her age, and I haven't spent all day telling her not to do things. She has been more cuddly with me, and has a big story to tell me all about her day when we are driving home in the car. This week I have had a taste of us having separate lives during the day and so far it seems to be a positive thing for both of us. I didn't realize how much I was worrying about it until I wasn't worrying anymore.
Unfortunately she has already brought a cold home from daycare with her. I knew it would happen, that many kids in a small space is just a petri dish for bacteria. Even though the place is so sterile it actually smells like a hospital, I noticed two kids with runny noses and was expecting this. Kids are disgusting, there's always something coming out of them, and they seem to get sticky with no explanation why.
In a way it's nice when she's sick. We spent the whole day cuddled up on the couch watching movies and Sesame Street. She is not much of a cuddler, she always wants to be moving around and doing stuff so on the rare occasion she isn't feeling well it's a bit of a treat for me to snuggle with her for hours and dote on her a bit. I'm sick too, which isn't as nice but I'll live.
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