Balance

I've been in a bit of a funk for the last two months or so, and I'm pretty sure it's mostly work related. I've been working five days a week again. My company is about to undergo a major reorganization that has everyone scared and angry. My boss is losing her position in the reorg and has pretty much checked out (understandably). The coworker I brought in as a partner on our municipal stormwater projects suddenly tried to take credit for the whole program and cut me out of it, and now I'm afraid to rely on her for anything. The looming workload is massive. The immediate workload is stuff I don't particularly like. Everyone's upset, everyone's feelings are hurt, and, holy shit, my office is a toxic place these days. And because I'm at work every day, the weekends are stressful, it's harder to travel to see family, our house is a wreck, the kids' attitudes are on a steady decline, and really, I'm just very unhappy at the moment.

So, starting this week, I'm going back to taking Fridays off. I'll have time to clean the house and plan the meals and do the shopping during the week. I'll be able to pack for trips and do the laundry and shopping before we go, so we're not all naked and hungry the rest of the week. I can work on decluttering the closets and rooms that are making me crazy. Maybe I'll even find the time to squeeze in the craft projects I want to do.

And hopefully I don't lose my job. Because as much as I hate it right now, I usually love what I do and would really like to continue to receive money to do it. Being the one professional in the office working a reduced schedule during so much upheaval definitely makes me nervous, but I'm hoping my work speaks for itself.

It's time to reset the scales on the whole work-life balance thing. We'll see what happens.