Incredibly Disappointed

Mike hasn't heard back, so it doesn't look like he got the other job. I'm really bummed because the hours would have been so much better.

I guess for the time being we are stuck - not that the job itself is bad - but the hours are horrible, just as I feared they would be when Mike originally took the job.

Let me just explain how his general schedule looks. During a normal week, he's off 2 days. Always during the week (meaning 2 days during the period of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Never a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (unless he requests one off for a certain event that is planned (such as last Saturday for Jeff Foxworthy or this Sunday for Monster Trucks) or if there is an oversight). When he does work, he closes EVERY single day he works. So, he starts at 3pm and works til 2-3am.

My hours vary slightly (in which I mean, I get off early on Thursdays and Fridays), but I work Monday thru Friday every week and I start at 8:30. Which means I'm out the door by 8:30 the very latest (yes, I know, that does mean I'm getting to work LATE).

So, when I leave for work, Mike is sound asleep from getting to bed so late (or so very early in the AM hours). When I get home from work - he's at work. I go to bed and am asleep by the time he gets home, and repeat over and over until he has a day off. In which case, I get home from work - we eat dinner as a family, tuck the kids in together, and then enjoy a couple hours of watching our favorite TV programs together. Fridays I have about 1 hour with him from when I get home until he leaves at 2:30. On weekends, we have until 2:30pm to enjoy his company. This means no day trips, lengthy activities or visits to the zoo or anything like that. It's perhaps a trip to the store, hanging out in the house, or maybe playing outside.

It's getting REALLLLLLLLLY tiring for me. 5 days out of the week (including weekends which are MY ONLY DAYS OFF from work), I'm responsible for bathing, feeding, tucking in, and nuturing the children entirely myself. Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE my kids to death! But sometimes after dinner, I'd rather relax for a few moments watching some mind-numbing television than chase after the kids while attempting to get them wrangled into pajamas and tucked into their sleep nests. And it seems that the couple nights he is home - he's doing what I'd like to be doing on my DAYS OFF -- relaxing. Most times I end up doing the bedtime thing myself because he plops in front of the TV or computer after dinner.

And again - I could even deal with all that a bit better if we were able to act like a "normal" family on the weekends. Attend picnics, go to the zoo, take a trip downtown, go to a birthday party, etc.

I don't even look forward to weekends. I'd much rather be at work, making money! Shame on me - I know I should enjoy those 2 days of being with my kids - but when you have no other option, it isn't that pleasurable. I don't have the option of taking a 15 minute break to "escape" while the kids play with daddy. There is no "back up" in case you don't end up feeling well, or are so tired and run down that you so desperately would like to just sit down and put your feet up on the coffee table, or that you just want to take a shower at a decent hour instead of having to wait until after 9pm when the oldest munchkin finally goes to sleep.