employment

Well, dear readers, it seems recession, parental deaths and a series of other little factors are pushing me back toward a desk job.

It was almost a year ago that we took the decision to concentrate completely on the business, and I quit my job. For about six months, we were plodding along merrily, the effects of the recession not giving us any cause for concern. Then two things happened:

1. My father took ill in Lourdes, was diagnosed with cancer and died within about three months. It completely took me away from developing our business and into a world of family issues I’d distanced myself from for years. Even after the funeral, my head was fuzzy with grief and I was totally unfocused.
2. The dreaded alliterative nightmare that is the credit crunch visited us. Despite no worrying signs at all, in June advertising revenue from our sites took a massive downturn. Suddenly relying on the great passive-income generator that is Google AdSense (and other advertising schemes) didn’t seem like a great idea anymore.

Now, the summer time is a bad time for ad revenue anyway: people go on holiday or spend more time outdoors. You can feel the general quieting of the Internet for the holiday period. Plus, Big Brother was bleeding viewers, the showbiz world decided to have a slow-news summer and the only thing to write about was the Katie and Peter split. Yawnnnn.

I did a bit of an exciting thing during the week. I quit my job.

Now, there were a few problems in the office that I wasn't happy with. Nothing to do with the work or the people who worked there, but more issues I had with my managers that have come to a head. Although I have decided not to divulge too much, the thing is that those issues led me to decide that working for an employer is too much trouble.

What makes this story even more strange is the fact that I'm not even looking for a job!

A few years ago I was asked to sit on the Advisory Group for our local Parenting Forum. I gladly accepted and up until I had Baby D I attented almost all of the meetings and enjoyed being part of such a proactive organisation who tirelessly worked to give parents a voice in our community.

However with the birth of baby number three and with Ray starting preschool I have found it almost impossible to attend any of the meetings this year as it is so akward to get the three children looked after and get Ray ferried back and forward to school.

I was surprised to receive a phone call last week from the Regional Manager of the forum. She is currently carrying out some research on parents views towards physical punishment and wanted me to complete a questionairre for her. I agreed and on Wednesday she arrived at my door bearing gifts in the shape of delicious chocolate buns.

The questionairre took a mere 10 minutes, and we spent the rest of the hour catching up and gossiping. During this time she revealed that her current administrator is due to go on maternity leave during the summer, and she asked if I would like to step into the role for 3 months. I was so chuffed to be asked and told her I would think it over and get back to her.

After weighing it up in my mind and discussing it with Gerard I have decided not to accept the offer. Jay will hopefully be starting playschool next year and Ray will begin Primary One. I don't know anyone that could look after all three kids and also do the school runs, and the cost of private childcare would be too high to justify me working.

However it really did my self esteem the world of good even to be considered for the position. Its nice to know that someone thinks that I am capable of stepping into a role like this and that someone sees me as more than a mum.