My 4 Jobs

At the end of Tuesday, January 22, Hans remarked that I had 4 jobs! I asked the boy to explain and he did very well.

He reminded me that, on that day, I did an interview for the March issue of the magazine; then, I did half a day of supply teaching and came home to do two tutoring sessions and finally cooked some dinner for the family.

Yes, he was right!

I am a content coordinator for a local magazine. I am an occasional teacher. I am a private tutor and I am also a domestic worker. Most days, I do 2 out of the 4 jobs listed and some days, I do 3 or all 4. This has only been true for about a month now.

And the boy who made note of the changes in my daily schedule has also been the one who has been most supportive!

I used to wake Hans up at 7:30 am and now, on his own, he wakes up by 7 am. He eats his breakfast without a fuss and is ready by 8 am. That is when I leave for my new job as well, if I have a school assigned. Prior to that, I would have to keep reminding the boy to eat his breakfast within a reasonable amount of time, go to the washroom, brush his teeth, change his clothes and make sure to have his bag ready with everything. He would be struggling to get out of the door by 8:20 am. There were days I would be upset with him for possibly being late for school.

Since I got my 4th job, the boy has ensured that I am on time for work and that he is not a cause for any concern for me. He has literally been my sunshine.

The other consistent rays of sunshine have been my new friend Kay (from the paternal ancestral land), Craigley and ASid. And exactly in that order! Craigley is the father of my children and obviously, he has little choice in the matter. However, Kay has been great with pickups and drop offs with Hans. Even ASid has chipped in, in his own way!

Hans has been worried for me from Day 1. He has warned me about kids misbehaving and treating supply teachers unkindly. He knows because his own class has a history of getting into trouble with supply teachers. There are some unruly and rude kids in his class. On one occasion, they collectively made a supply teacher cry; not in front of them, but in the privacy of the Principal's office. This person swore to never come back to Hans' school ever!

So, I am aware of the perils of my new job! But as Craigley said many times in the last few weeks, "As long as you leave a classroom with all students alive, you have done your job!"

Yes, my 4th job currently seems like glorified babysitting; however, it is not that bad all the time. I have had some amazing moments. After a miserable half day in one classroom where I felt like I failed all the students, a quiet little girl from that classroom told me very quietly, "I like you. You are a good teacher." Apparently, that is how that classroom is on a daily basis. I decided to not take it too personally!

So, these days, my 4 jobs keep me super busy. I really do not have time to reflect or over think. I can't afford to! In fact, one of the side effects has been increased efficiency. I seem to do more in a day than before. The biggest downside is that I don't spend as much time with my friends. But then, they have been understanding about it.

Overall, I consider myself lucky. And as mentioned in the previous post, I come home and I am thankful for the kids I have! And just so I am very clear on this, being a parent has always been a source of joy for me and NEVER felt like a job!