This week has been incredibly busy and resulted in me accepting (yet another) new role. I am returning to contracting, which makes me very happy. I’m going to be working in the same county where I currently reside, which I have mixed feelings about. I’ll be able to commute back and forth to the office within a day, sleep in my own bed, and be there for my kids overnight should they need me. On the days I’m in the office, I will leave home before they wake up and return after they’ve gone to bed. Also, I will have fewer opportunities to visit the place that I really consider home. London.
I look forward to meeting a new organisation, learning about and understanding the challenges, and supporting everyone in finding improvements and solutions. I wonder how the people I’m about to meet feel about agile and, in turn, how they will feel about me as a proxy for the changing environment they now find themselves in.
Once again though, my family is going to be feeling the greatest impact of my return to work. The boys have just got used to me being at home all the time, and talking to them this week about my being away has definitely caused them to have some anxiety. They are more sensitive to where I am in the house. My partner will have to take them to and from nursery without me, adding extra pressure on his day before and after work. I’m sure we’ll all settle into the rhythm of it quickly, and I hope that we don’t fall out of it again too soon.
Congratulations on landing a new role so quickly. I am a little jealous. :) Best of luck on the challenges of commuting while raising a family. I remember those days. (Our daughter is 22).