It's been a little quiet on the blog because last Friday the 15th was my first day back at work. I had every good intention of doing a "dry run" like what I did with Amaya, but sleeping in was a much higher priority.
I had mixed feelings returning to work. While I would miss Amaya and Weston tremendously, I was more anxious about catching up at work than I was leaving them with my parents. I was put on bedrest in the beginning of November, so it had been nearly 5 months since I had given an allergy shot... done a skin test... performed a breathing test... administered peanut butter to an allergic kiddo with the hopes of outgrowing an allergy. I was terrified of opening up my e-mail - I ended up having 893 e-mails to weed through, delete, sort, mark as high priority, and add things to my "to-do" list. I was behind on my online and paper competencies (12 tests!!) I was delinquent on my TB test and at risk of suspension without pay (my supervisor handled that one!). My yearly evaluation with my supervisor was 3 months past due. Oye... plus all the meeting minutes that needed to be read, policy changes, etc...
My supervisor is absolutely phenomenal and decided to just spend my first day back catching up on e-mail and competencies. And she even made scrumptious Special K Bars to welcome me back and get me through the day! This past week, I worked Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and was able to get everything done on my list and my supervisor's list. It is wonderful being back with my "work sisters," but I still haven't quite caught up with everything going on in their personal lives. A lot happens in 5 months! And I was surprised that I missed my patients a lot more than I thought I would. I had forgotten several passwords, but most everything feels like second nature now. Overall, it's great to be back!
Of course, I miss Amaya and Weston... I had gotten into a nice little routine at home dropping Amaya off at preschool, going out to coffee with Jen, cuddling with Weston, playing Barbies, Polly Pockets, or babies with Amaya. Now we're all settling into a different routine. It's very different, but good.
Working part-time has been a good balance for me... While I would still LOVE to be home full-time... being away from Amaya and Weston makes me a better mom when I am with them. Our time together is much more special and I cherish every moment with them.