The Elusive "Perfect Part-Time Job"

So I'm ready to dive back in to the work force and get a job. If it's part-time. If it fits my family's schedule. If they can work around my school board meetings and obligations. That's right, I'm looking for that elusive "perfect part-time job" that so many moms are looking for after all the kids have started school.

I started looking for the job last summer, before The Girl started kindergarten. I would regularly check the Odenton Patch, the Capital, and Craigslist for part-time jobs that not only were flexible, but that I would qualify for, and were not rackets trying to take advantage of desperate moms looking for work. I looked all fall for the job. But when I hadn't found it by December, I agreed to go back for tax season to the CPA office where I have done taxes for the last several years. As tax season is now over, the search begins anew.

I talk about this with my children, and they offer me their suggestions.  The Girl says, "Mom, you should be a bus driver!" Never mind that I can barely park my minivan.  The Boy offers, "How about a pizza delivery driver?" Out of the mouths of babes - they speak what they know.  I guess maybe the pizza guy come to our house a bit too often.

I talk with other moms–the part-time thing is hard to master. When you do manage to find a part-time job, as I did for the first few years I was a mother, you can feel torn. Never feeling that you have accomplished enough in either place, not having enough time to get everything done. For some, they consider it the best of both worlds. For me, it was a way to still earn some income, keep my professional skills sharp, and talk to adults. But I didn't have enough time in the office to get everything done.  I also didn't have enough time at home to get all my chores done, or to be with The Boy. And once The Girl was born, the job didn't pay enough to make it worth day care costs for both kids.

But, as I mentioned before, the kids are both school-age now, and I'm hoping the balance will be at least a little bit easier this time. So I will continue to search Odenton Patch, The Capital, and Craigs List for the elusive "perfect part-time job."