Last August ended with a bang as Kelly and my job situations changed dramatically. I was let go from my job at Monolith the very same day Kelly accepted a position with Leadership North Carolina.
How things happened for me is still a mystery. I received a favorable performance evaluation in June and completed the personal objectives which would’ve qualified me for a bonus. It was at this point where things got murky and other executives took issue. Rather than being paid my bonus, I was told I was no longer performing to standards even while my manager reassured me that he had always been happy with my work. But whatever . . .
That same day, though, Kelly accepted her new position as Program Director of Leadership NC that very same day. It’s a great program designed to educate the state’s business and governmental leaders about the issues facing our state. Kelly’s role is to facilitate the many meetings that take place during each class, which means she is often traveling the state for many nights in a row while the classes are in session. It turns out Kelly travels more now that I did in my last sales engineering role.
It’s been very good for her, though, and for us. She’s so talented at organization and was craving a professional role again that it seemed the perfect fit. Having been familiar with the program for over two years, I knew how much fun it would be. In fact, I was quite jealous of her for a time. But seeing how happy and fulfilled Kelly’s been is proof positive that it’s been a good decision.
A few weeks later, I answered a Craigslist ad for a part-time Linux sysadmin position. To my surprise, my neighbor was the one who advertised the position and I quickly got an interview. I took the position and set up a schedule where I work 25 hours per week.
So, just like that our work schedules flip-flopped. Kelly became the full-time worker and I became the part-timer. I’m a stay-at-home Dad, for all practical purposes. It’s been great for providing me more time with the kids than I would’ve ordinarily gotten. I walk them to school and back each day, take them to their music lessons and basketball practices, and make sure they do their homework. When they’re at school, I work either at home or in the office. And around all that, I do my volunteer stuff like the Parks board and RCAC board organizing.
Kelly and I were marveling last night about how well our current arrangement has been working out, and it has. It took a ton of getting used to on my part but we’re making it work. It’s certainly made a difference in how we live our daily lives.