Flip Flop!

I am not typing from the comfort of the glider in front of the computer in my bedroom. No, I am happily settled at Matt's desk up at the LifeChange office. It's not just Matt's desk anymore. As of today, it is my desk, too. The recent round of layoffs left many empty jobs here. Whether we have enough employees or not, the work still needs to get done. I wanted to help lighten the load, so Matt and I met with his manager--our manager--and discussed some options. We determined that my skills will be very useful to LifeChange, and that I should start coming in to work one day each week. On the day I work, Matt will stay home with the kids and do the homeschooling. Today was Day 1 of our new venture.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my day today. I completed half of a video training course on Excel, as I'm a little...actually a lot...rusty. I put my new skills to practice and built a budget spreadsheet for our family. I'm quite pleased with myself! It is very thorough, and I believe it will help us stay on top of our finances a whole lot better. I am feeling pretty confident with Excel basics again, and will complete my training course on Tuesday, which will be my next work day.

After my "What I Learned" post on Wednesday, several of you asked what the Beaver result of my DISC profile meant. In short, someone who is classified as a Beaver is a person who likes facts and figures, is dependable, thorough and analytical, is very organized, and is a religious rule-follower. The Beaver also likes clear guidelines, and having expectations firmly in place. This is SO me! I live by my list, plan ahead, complete a project before moving on to something else, and like to have my ducks in a row. When I get focused on something, I focus to the point of losing track of the world around me. This is a double edged sword, as sometimes my list and my order and my focus can take priority over people.

So for some of you, spending a day working on spreadsheets may seem monotonous. But for me, the order freak, being able to build a tool to keep one more aspect of my life in order is sheer joy.

That's not all I did, though. I also got familiar with LifeChange's event reports and some other aspects of the organization. My job will be twofold--a mix of data analysis and reporting, and graphic design. I'm so happy to be contributing to this ministry, and happy to have one day a week when I can live in the adult world.

Don't get me wrong--I love being a stay-at-home mom. I love my kids. I love my home. But the child-created chaos at home(neither one of my kids shows even slightly "beaverish" tendencies) grates on me, and I find I'm usually frazzled and frustrated by the end of the day. I know that having one day each week here at the office will help me be a better wife and mom. I know Matt and the kids will appreciate that. And I can't describe how excited the kids were when I told them Daddy was staying home with them today! This flip flop may be the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.