Real weekends!

This is a big weekend for me because, well, I get real weekends for the first time in more than six years. When I first started at my current employer, I was hired part time as a Sunday proofreader, then I picked up four days during the week working on other projects. I moved to a different--full-time--position in the company within six months, which changed my hours to a Sunday through Thursday second-shift schedule. I got two days off in a row, which was good, but my days off did not coincide with anyone else I knew, and doing things during the week was impossible since I worked from 2 p.m. until at least 11 p.m. or midnight.

When I was promoted to chief copy editor in May 2005, I experienced another change in my schedule, working days Tuesday through Friday and on Sundays from noon until usually 10 p.m. (give or take). That was nice because I was back to first shift again, but having that Sunday in there really threw things off. Weekend trips were basically out because the only common day The Husband and I had off was Saturday, and taking off Sundays was nearly impossible. My weeks felt like they never ended because I got only one day off at a time, at least until I got a holiday off--I did not take vacation time because I was saving it for maternity leave--so I felt like I was in a continuous work cycle with no real break.

Without boring you with the details, the gist of it is that about a month and a half ago, my supervisors approached me and said they wanted to change my schedule to a Monday through Friday schedule (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in order to focus on different projects. This was a dream come true--and a dream that I never thought would happen in a million years at this job since the magazine is published on Sunday nights and I had to be there for that. I was thrilled because that meant a return to real weekends, but I had to put up with a lot of crap from my proofreaders who had to pull together to take over my Sunday hours. On the heels of them covering for me during my three-month maternity leave, this did not go over well. In fact, they're still not happy about it, but it was made clear by my supervisors that this plan was going forward with or without them.

Now, the big drawback will be that I have to work Mondays, which I'd loved having off since it was a good time to run errands, schedule appointments, spend alone time, and spend time with Baby B without The Husband around--just us girls. Baby B will be going to daycare an extra day now, which kind of stinks, but she really does love it there, and now we'll be getting our money's worth there since we have to pay for five days a week whether we're there that much or not. I'm not really used to working five days in a row, either, so I'm sure at first my weeks are going to seem very looooooooong. I think I'll manage fine. :)

So this is my first weekend experiencing a real weekend! I barely know what to do with myself! I'm excited because a local bookstore does a baby storytime at 11:30 on Sunday mornings, which I couldn't attend before, but now that'll be an option. I'd like to do that maybe once a month or so. We chose not to go this weekend, but we'll definitely start soon. I'm just glad to have some extra time to spend with my family and to have the opportunity to take little weekend trips once again if we so choose.