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October 13, 2004
A new nanny
This blog is turning less into a record of motherhood and school and more into a repository for my personal hand-wringing.
This post will hand-wring, but it will also discuss why I can now start working earnestly.
My lovely H has decided to quit his job. We have been through this ever since we've been married (which is going on 9 years now). The history of it probably is partially my fault: when we got married, he quit college to work full time so I could finish my degree, at which point I would work full time and he would return to school.
Well, heh heh, I'm not finished with my degree yet.
The neighbors, Deb and Chuck, have successfully moved into phase two of our plan: Deb is working full time, Chuck began school this fall. And they, in all their infinite worldly wisdom, have managed to do it without borrowing money.
So, ever since he quit school, he has moved from job to job, sometimes keeping them for a year or so, sometimes quiting after 3 or 4 months. He can always find a job, and find a good-paying job (he's a genuis, pretty much; a talented mechanic, carpenter, electrician, plumber, tug boat engineer, etc).
It didn't bother me at first. He's been for entire years without working as well, although he was building us a strawbale cabin to live in at the time (and we were living in a tent, so I was encouraging him to build the damn thing!).
But he's decided he wants to stay home for good. And let me tell you: we cannot live on the 1100 bucks a month that I make. Even with the damn student loans (that will hopefully arrive soon), we will HURT.
On the upside, if he is home, I will get to write more, spend more time outside of the house getting research done, and work on the Oswego County Women's Cooperative, which doesn't exist yet but WILL exist by early next year, I promise.
Dr. Crazy lists criteria for the ideal partner. Two from her list: ambition and commitment *do* exist in Brian. Somewhere. He is committed to sleeping in and holds ambitions concerning the number of used trucks that can be parked in one driveway.
BUT on the bright side: I'll have that live-in nanny I've always wanted.
BUT on the not-so-bright side: it's mid-October in Central New York. It's 55 upstairs this morning. And we have heating fuel, but I'm feeling awfully stingy about turning on the heat right about now. The fuel costs $1.81 a gallon. Last year we averaged 200 gallons a month in the winter. Luckily I suck so bad at math that I cannot even calculate what we paid.
Posted by mryonker at October 13, 2004 09:18 AM
Comments
I think this is a frustrating situation, but you have the knack to have a positive attitude about it. Maybe you could figure out how much you would have spent on a babysitter and toss that amount to your gas bill. Also, layers for the kids work well (anything with big holes or stains immediately becomes part of Mari's PJ's which helps on the gas bill). John used to complain when I kept the house cool in the winter, but we all slept better and there was less $ used. Do you have a fireplace? That always does well with heating the house and if it came down to it, you could do the Laura Ingall’s way-sleep in the main room (I am not joking).
Posted by: Mary Ann at October 18, 2004 11:27 AM