Hi team. Busy times are all around, and I have joined the trend. These days I have two part-time jobs and am also studying part time. Alongside those important activities, I also like to have an actual social life (hard to come by these days) and hubby and I have taken up Swing Dancing (awesome fun) in recent months and that's also keeping me off the streets. Not that I ever was on them.
It has only recently occurred to me that I am not likely to ever get myself a full-time grown-up office job. Until now I always thought I wasn't qualified or experienced enough for that. But it turns out, I don't actually want one of them grown-up 9-5 kind of gigs. It's not me. I am not an office kind of person. Some of us just aren't and I only just realised that's ok. Slow on the uptake, yes.
For some reason my idea of a responsible grownup is a person who works full time in an office. But I now realise that I am an actual responsible adult, despite the fact I spend a lot of my time playing kids' games and drinking coffee in cafes. Because I am actually doing those things in a productive way.
I have finally come to realise that my 'temporary' nannying job was something I didn't consider an 'actual' job. But heck, it sure is an actual job! An actual job I am really good at, and I really enjoy. Yes, the pay is fairly terrible, once you've taken taxes, super and holiday pay out of my hourly rate, not much is left. But what is left are happy, well-rounded children, and a happy Florence. That's actually quite wonderful. And worth my time and effort.
Nannying is a wonderful way to spend time. I get to keep the very imaginative child in me very curious and active, and I also get to play a lot with wonderful small people. Plus I get tons of cuddles. I get to go to the zoo when others are in an office. I get to design amazing Lego structures and get praised by my kids as if I have just built the Taj Mahal. Children are full of praise and full of love. Not many people receive that from the people they spend their time with at work. Do you?
My other part-time job as a freelance (online) writer and editor is where I get to be grown up and intelligent. I get to sit quietly on my lovely couch, under a blanket, sometimes in my pyjamas and make money. I could also choose to do this at a cafe, while drinking fabulous coffee and feeling the buzz of my beloved Melbourne cafe culture around me.
And then I also get to spend time at uni, improving my skills as an editor and writer. I get to learn, study and re-awaken my thirst for knowledge and the joy in being studious. Also, I get to buy stationery and I get student discounts on fun things.
It seems ridiculous that I have only just realised how awesome my life is. Granted, my writing job is fairly recent and before that I had very little confidence in my skills as a professional writer. But the way I started my writing job, and how quickly I mastered my tasks and overcame challenges has really given me a boost. I now once again believe in my words. Still not as much as I did when I was about 22, but that's ok. I am actually a better writer now.
I will quite happily live on with part-time jobs that are almost opposites, forever: loud and fun and crazy and social with my children, and quiet and intelligent and grown-up with my writing. It's a perfect balance.
It has only recently occurred to me that I am not likely to ever get myself a full-time grown-up office job. Until now I always thought I wasn't qualified or experienced enough for that. But it turns out, I don't actually want one of them grown-up 9-5 kind of gigs. It's not me. I am not an office kind of person. Some of us just aren't and I only just realised that's ok. Slow on the uptake, yes.
For some reason my idea of a responsible grownup is a person who works full time in an office. But I now realise that I am an actual responsible adult, despite the fact I spend a lot of my time playing kids' games and drinking coffee in cafes. Because I am actually doing those things in a productive way.
I have finally come to realise that my 'temporary' nannying job was something I didn't consider an 'actual' job. But heck, it sure is an actual job! An actual job I am really good at, and I really enjoy. Yes, the pay is fairly terrible, once you've taken taxes, super and holiday pay out of my hourly rate, not much is left. But what is left are happy, well-rounded children, and a happy Florence. That's actually quite wonderful. And worth my time and effort.
Nannying is a wonderful way to spend time. I get to keep the very imaginative child in me very curious and active, and I also get to play a lot with wonderful small people. Plus I get tons of cuddles. I get to go to the zoo when others are in an office. I get to design amazing Lego structures and get praised by my kids as if I have just built the Taj Mahal. Children are full of praise and full of love. Not many people receive that from the people they spend their time with at work. Do you?
My other part-time job as a freelance (online) writer and editor is where I get to be grown up and intelligent. I get to sit quietly on my lovely couch, under a blanket, sometimes in my pyjamas and make money. I could also choose to do this at a cafe, while drinking fabulous coffee and feeling the buzz of my beloved Melbourne cafe culture around me.
And then I also get to spend time at uni, improving my skills as an editor and writer. I get to learn, study and re-awaken my thirst for knowledge and the joy in being studious. Also, I get to buy stationery and I get student discounts on fun things.
It seems ridiculous that I have only just realised how awesome my life is. Granted, my writing job is fairly recent and before that I had very little confidence in my skills as a professional writer. But the way I started my writing job, and how quickly I mastered my tasks and overcame challenges has really given me a boost. I now once again believe in my words. Still not as much as I did when I was about 22, but that's ok. I am actually a better writer now.
I will quite happily live on with part-time jobs that are almost opposites, forever: loud and fun and crazy and social with my children, and quiet and intelligent and grown-up with my writing. It's a perfect balance.
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