Unexpected Changes

     We have had some unplanned changes in our life! Don't worry, these are good changes!! : )  As you may have noticed, I have marked out number 9 on my 101 List -- NO, I'M NOT PREGNANT! (Sorry to disappoint, or for the other side of that fence you can let your breath out now...)


     To start off, John was given a promotion!! Praise the Lord!! We didn't expect this promotion, it was performance based and he just showed up one day to work and they told him he'd start the new position in 2 weeks! Ironically, we had just been discussing the weekend prior where he saw himself with the company in a year. He was hoping that by this fall (when he met his year mark with BSN) he would be in this position or one similar!! {So congratulations Sweetie!!}

    Okay, so the pregnancy/mommyhood plan changes - Each year at my job they do Reviews for each of the professional and support staff.  Along came my review, which went very well - I got an increase in hours and a nice little pay bump! It is so nice to feel appreciated and a job well done to be noticed!  My review is the source of the big changes...

     ...our office manager is retiring in 15 months.  Seems like a long ways off, but when you think about the amount of time that is needed to train someone for this position, it seems like an alarmingly short period of time! Especially when you consider the fact that when we are in the heat of a tax season, there is no time for extra work like training someone!

     I am going to be the new office manager!! This is going to be a huge learning curve for me!! I have never kept books (but did take introductory accounting thank goodness!) so I'm going to need to learn that on top of learning all the other stuff she does! It will be a huge responsibility and I'm so excited! This is a wonderful opportunity! Especially for someone my age!!

Game Plan:

• Start training with Patty this fall after the October tax deadline
• She would taper out of the practice as I took on more responsibilities
• I would take over her position in full by July of next year (2013)

     So while I was talking to them about all this, I went ahead and told them that we would like to start a family sooner than later.  My bosses were hugely supportive of this and said they had figured this time and decision was coming up for us sometime soon (I love my job!!). So, if I will bide my time and go through training and transitioning then work for a year in the position; get accustomed to how things will work, take my position paperless (the rest of the office is headed there now); and then we will look back into starting a family.

    It is a little frustrating to be headed full steam ahead in one direction and stop and turn another; but both John and I agree that this is the best thing for us. Yes, it is technically possible that we will have qualified to meet the requirements of my 101 list and be pregnant by the time my deadline expires, but that isn't all that realistic - so we decided this promotion can be my "baby" for the next while.

   "There will never be a good time to have a baby" you say? You are correct  -  but let me enlighten you to why we decided that this simple offer so totally changes the game for us. My current position has some nice perks. For example being part time means that if we were to have a child now, I could keep working after maternity leave (assuming we could find affordable child care) and not be loosing money. The flexibility is great! However, our office is small enough that we aren't required to abide by FMLA. I'm sure my bosses would be great about it and hold my position for me, but they don't have to; and since I'm hourly there would be no pay compensation for my time gone.
    Being the office manager would get me a sanctioned, paid maternity leave! But wait, there's more! They have also said that if I complete that time (training then a year) with them, when I do come back from a maternity leave, I can work from home some days! ...and one day down the road when the munchkin is in school - they are amicable to me working school hours! This isn't the kind of thing you see advertised or offered every day... or ever. You don't turn it down when it is offered to you!

   We are so blessed that I have such wonderful employers and such a great office with awesome co-workers! We are so excited to be embarking in this new chapter in our lives!

P.S.
This may mean other changes **for the BETTER** to the 101 list! More to come!!