Angry Julie Monday

It is that time of the year, I can feel it. The weather is getting warmer outside, and the kids are getting anxious.  Angry Kid gets out of school in seven weeks exactly. I am having a bit of anxiety about this.

My biggest worry about summer is childcare. When Angry Kid was younger, it was so much easier.  He went to a year-round preschool/daycare. We always knew that he would have a fun summer with his friends, and that there would be childcare available from 7am-6pm.

Angry Kid visited a friend’s camp last summer. He had a blast. If only it wasn’t so far away.

Last summer was our first summer sans childcare plans. I wanted some more flexibility for the summer, and somehow it all worked out. I watched him on my days off, my husband also got a few days, and then my mom filled in. But at the end of the summer, I realized that Angry Kid needs some kind of structure. My whole “spontaneous plans” summer vacation was a bad experiment.

I started freaking out about the summer about a month ago, when I realized that my work schedule was going to be changing in May. My husband also announced that his schedule would be changing soon also. You can only imagine the chaos and noise going on inside my head. I pretty much had a panic attack. I am going to be working at 7:00 am, five days a week, and I will be off in the early afternoon around 4pm. Angry Husband also works five days a week with a 7:00-8:00am to about 6:00pm schedule.

I did research online and mapped out our options. Unfortunately, most of the camps start around 9:00am, and many finish between the hours of 12:00-3:00pm.  So you can imagine my stress!

I was able to sign my son up for a soccer camp that goes for 5 days from 9am-12pm during my dad’s vacation in July.  We are going to Yosemite for a week. But what will I do about childcare for the rest of the summer?  I have some ideas, but I need to see if my mom can drop Angry Kid off at camp because Angry Husband and I will be at work.

People always tell you that work will be different after you have a child. I’ve had my ups and downs, but nothing like how it has been since Angry Kid started elementary school.  With all of the holidays, in-service days, programs, and sports….I am constantly struggling to balance it all.  My husband obviously has issues with balance also.  Luckily, my parents only live ten minutes away, or we would have some major problems.  I have no clue how parents that both work balance life and career with multiple children, because I would be a wreck.

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I’ve noticed how women so often feel caught between their interests in family life and their creative or career aspirations. I wonder if it has to be this way. What would have to change—in your life, in people’s attitudes, or in our society—for women to have an easier time managing work-life balance? Share your answer below and like Smarter Life Better Planet on Facebook to be entered to win a Haier microwave for your family along with an additional microwave to be donated to the Food Bank for New York City!

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Haier. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Contest Rules.

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