DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Now that my kids are back to school my boss asked me if I wanted to put in more hours at my job. I work as a cashier/supervisor, and the company has been good to me in working around my schedule for the past couple of years since I went to work there, including giving me fewer hours during the summer and the schedule I need to be more at home with my kids when they get in from school.
It is far from big money, but it is some money that we could use towards the kids’ college funds and a nicer vacation next year. However, taking the extra hours would mean I won’t be home when my kids get off the bus three days a week, and that is my favorite part of the day with them, outside of our bedtime routines.
A friend said she would cover for me those three days, since she is home with her kids anyway at that time of the day, but I feel funny asking her, especially since I know she won’t take any money.
Honestly, I started working just to have something to do while the kids are at school and make a little money. We are blessed to not really NEED the extra cash I would be making, but we can always use it.
I love being home when my kids are, but how do I put that in front of bringing in more money for their futures? --- TIME VS. MONEY
DEAR TIME VS. MONEY: You’ve already undoubtedly come to appreciate how kids don’t stay little forever. That knowledge puts a lot of pressure on many parents about how best to juggle the need to provide for their family with having enough time to enjoy their children while they’re still young.
Since it sounds like your heart is more at home than at work, I think you’re already leaning toward keeping your shifts as they currently are. And there’s nothing wrong with that if your family isn’t counting on your income to survive.
If, however, you opt to put in the extra hours at your job, you’re fortunate to have a friend available and willing to watch your kids after school on the days you’d be at work. If her kids and yours get along, it might not be that different from your children heading over to a friend’s house right after school, just like they’d potentially do even if you were home.
As far as repaying your friend, you could possibly propose a swap on weekends or evenings during the week to take her kids so she’d have a chance to do other things. It may not be an hour-for-hour exchange, but it’s one way to repay her kindness.