back to the daily grind

my daughter is nearly 6 months old now. while that means a multitude of developmental milestones are occurring so fast i can't catch them on camera quick enough, it also means that it's time for me to go back to work.

this has been a back-and-forth topic for my husband and i for some time now. it's that old catch 22 of the cost of day care vs. the income i would be earning. although, for now, we've reached a conclusion. part-time work will prevent us from spending a fortune on day care, and allow me to re-enter the adult world without a baby on my hip for 15-20 hours a week.

everybody wins.

so what will i be doing that's so illustrious as to call me away from my new full-time job as house-wreck (i mean mother)? i will be returning to my catering job that i held when i was a million months pregnant. they were so nice there, only making me stand for 10 hour shifts at a time, as opposed to the normal 12 hours.

i can ride this part-time thing for a few years, maybe make little miss a baby bro or sis at some point, but i know that i will have to fully rejoin the workforce eventually. i am looking forward to having a career, but it'll have to be something kid friendly. whatever could i do in the food industry that would be about the same schedule as when my kids are in school.....

that's right folks, i'm talking about becoming a lunch lady.

did i ever think when i was 18 that a day would come that i would intentionally consider slopping out beans and franks after spending bags of money to go to a fancy culinary school? who would? but the lunch lady has evolved, and so have i.

today's lunch lady is responsible for designing healthy, cost efficient meals that are regularly rotated. she not only makes sure the food is prepared to her high standards, but is also the merchandiser and shipping/receiving manager. and that's on top of ordering fresh supplies and collecting lunch money from the parents.

the idea has been flickering on and off in my head for a while, hypothetically. but just yesterday i received a phone call from a dear friend, who happens to work in the school system, hysterically laughing because she was on line in the cafeteria and realised that being a lunch lady would be a perfect job for me.

so there it is, my new calling. i could even work in the same elementary school my kids go to and embarrass the shit out of them every day. i may not win any upcoming seasons of top chef, but i would be able to work making delicious food while still being home to help with math homework.

can you see it yet? i mean, i'll probably ditch the old fashioned hair net for a sleek new uniform and matching cap. but maybe, just maybe, i'll have a chance at changing that old stigma and building something, well, i don't know, less lunch lady-ish. at least i'll always have that adam sandler song to motivate me each day.