I Think: Opting Back In

Opting Back In
By: Mia Black
3/14/07

The old age question for the working woman has come into my life once again: How do you find the balance between family and work? I've come to believe there is no perfect balance. There is a definite choice; one or the other is going to come first. Well about six years ago, I made a choice. I put my daughter first. She was my first born and she changed my life in a way that made me feel indebted to her. As though I brought her into this world and I had the obligation to put her and all of her needs ahead of mine no matter what.

But as she grows older and my other daughter approaches two, I want to opt back into the workforce. When my first daughter was born, I had finally reached management level in my career and could have really pushed forth with it. But the company that I previously worked for wasn't parent-friendly and neither was my particular position. Working in the property management industry at a management level creates a 24/7 availability schedule for you. If you get paged at 1 am on your day off, then you come in at 1 am on your day off.

So I opted for a strict Monday-Friday 9-5 desk job, a job that would allow me to leave work at work when I left for the day. A place that would understand if my daughter was sick, I couldn't come in. Or maybe I want to leave early so I can catch her concert at school. I found the perfect job as an administrative assistant at a college. It has truly allowed me the opportunity to start and support my family and was overly compensating to me during my pregnancy with my second child.

So now I want to opt back in. Now that I have my family, I want to be able to support their growth in the long run, i.e.: a house, the camps, the lessons, all the little pets, and eventually the big one, COLLEGE. But as I slowly step into the interview world, my management position that I left just six years ago, doesn't have the weight it did when I left. Meaning if I was looking for a higher management position six years ago, my resume would have definitely gotten me in the door. But now that I have put six years of administrative work under my belt, those management positions are now out of reach…as if I somehow forgot my management training.

At this point I have put it in God’s hands because as He makes me uncomfortable in my current situation, I know through Him and only Him will the right door open for me.