Getting Back To 9 to 5

Re-Entering the Workforce

So after much deliberation and talks with my husband and sister…and my mom…and some friends (yes, it takes a village for me to make a sound decision), I decided to re-enter the workforce on top of doing my job with XOXO Invites. It was not an easy decision to make, but something came up that would work too perfectly with my son’s school schedule that I just couldn’t pass up. Why on earth you might ask, would I add more stress and work and more craziness to my already full plate? Well, the answer is because I just simply am crazy and thought it’d be nothing to it. I WAS WRONG!

So here is how life has been in the Rojas house since the last two weeks of March…

I was messing around on the computer one day and something was just nagging on me to take a look around and see what was available out in this beautiful city that I now live in, just to see. So this is not to undermine XOXO in anyway, shape or form. I am still with XOXO Invites and still manage my side of the business as well, but I figured why not look around and see what is out there. I have been out of the workforce since September 2015, when I was still living in Missouri and we had just found out that my husband would be deploying soon and a few months after that XOXO Invites was created. So since it has been awhile since I had to work in an actual office, I was curious to see what was available and I came across a position working with my son’s school district that I just couldn’t pass up. I applied, thinking nothing of it, that I probably wouldn’t get any call back but SURPRISE I did!

I was shocked when I got the call to come in for an interview and I was so nervous that day trying to think of all the things I should say and how it would go. I have a habit of overthinking everything, so in comes the hubby to bring me back down to earth and chill out. Needless to say I got the job and I was so surprised and excited at the same time to embark on something new.

This all happened within a 2 week time span. Everything in our lives changed within 2 weeks, which is crazy to think about now. I had to find a child care place for my 1 year old daughter, and in Colorado child care is extremely expensive and hard to find since a lot of places fill up rather quickly for her age group. I also had to see if there was space available in my son’s school for the Before & After School program along with their Kindergarten Enrichment class, since Kindergarten here wasn’t a full day here. So a lot of running around and calling needless to say, but I was blessed to have took the last spot available for my son and I was able to find a child care facility for my daughter that is 2 blocks away from my new job and a lot more affordable than some of the other places around.

Now the adjustment period….

First off, my daughter hated child care. She has been with me day in and day out since she was born. There has been no one else that she has been with and so separation anxiety definitely took over. It is now June and she has just now stopped crying when I drop her off at day care and she’s been going since the 2nd week of April. As for my son the social butterfly, I was so lucky that he looked forward to being in the after school program and being able to play with friends, he loves it and I don’t have to worry about him at all THANK YOU GOD!!

So my first week of work, it was a whirlwind to say the least. My daughter ended up getting a fever the night before she was supposed to start her first day at the child care place and for the next 4 days was very sick and my husband ended having to take time off to care for her since I couldn’t. I felt so bad and was constantly rethinking about my decision to work and sort of regretting putting my family in this position. It may sound crazy but that is just how I felt, it’s kind of like buyers remorse. On top of that, the first week at work was full of hands-on training as so many things were happening at once good and bad, and even on my first day I just had to roll up my sleeves and dive right in. There was no formal training, it was just that busy and crazy where I only had time to learn on the fly, which is fine with me but it is draining when you come home for sure. However, I have been so lucky and blessed that the group of people that I work with and all the staff have been so wonderful and supportive and are just pure genuine people and that we are all working towards the same goal, has just been amazing and so unlike any other working environment I have ever been in.

I digress, anyway, April past in a blur of getting home, cleaning, cooking dinner, picking up the kids, dropping off the kids, dealing with colds, making sure homework is done and having everyone adjust to this new schedule on top of the hubby still going to night school. And May has been pretty much the same just with the added bitter-sweetness of my Carlos graduating Kindergarten *insert sob fest here*

Now, I have started my summer vacation with my kiddos and I don’t return to work until late July, which is a lovely perk to the job since it gives me the time to catch up and focus on my XOXO Invites responsibilities.

Throughout all this my sister has been super supportive and gracious with everything and I can’t thank her enough for that and for letting me go out and try this crazy work force thing. Family wise, this is a good move for us in the long run and especially for my kids and that is one of the major reasons why I even applied to work for the school district in the first place. Although, I see now that I probably should’ve waited until Elena started Kindergarten herself, but overall she is better for being able to interact with other babies her age and for Carlos, this will open up so many doors for him education wise as this is one the best school districts in the state.

Going back to work….

Going back has been a huge adjustment for us as a family and getting used to the new schedule was definitely challenging, but in the long run it is completely worth it. I work with amazing people, I have an incredible support team even if they live all over the US, and I am incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to not only have a so-called 9 to 5 job but to also be able to work for myself and have my own company with the best sister in the world. Women, we can do it all if we want to. It won’t always be easy and you won’t always have good days, but it is possible to be a mom, wife, entrepreneur and have a full-time 9 to 5 job.

There is still some growing and adjusting that we are working through and now with Carlos entering 1st grade, there will be more homework to get through but I know God’s got my back and through him everything is possible.

So here’s to all the working moms and the stay-at-homes and all the mompreneurs holding it down and doing their thing!