Parenting Work Options

Her Work Situation Was Too Precarious To Leave To Chance.

Margaret Chapman* of Altus, Oklahoma was a popular remedial reading teacher in the local public school system who had parleyed a part-time position into a fulltime job. She was also eight months pregnant and worried that her maternity leave substitute might end up co-opting her job for good. Her work situation was too precarious to leave to chance.

He Wasn't Risking Clients By Putting His Business On Hold.

Margaret and her husband, Bob, sat down for a long heart-to-heart talk and realized that despite any possible slight to Bob's manhood, they needed to face up to the fact that Margaret was earning a salary that was 2/3 higher than what Bob was bringing in with his light contracting business. Bob's business was just starting to earn a name for itself, and his prospects were good, but there were no outstanding projects that couldn't wait a few months or more. He wasn't risking clients by putting his business on hold.

Margaret and Bob decided that with some creative adaptation, Margaret didn't have to take off more than a week of maternity leave; not enough time for an over-eager substitute to win over the hearts and minds of the school board. Bob would stay home with the new baby and run the household while Margaret went back to work. This idea was strange to the Chapmans who had always been very traditional minded, but it was the only way that made sense to them. Still, a lot of planning needed to be done to make this work.

First on Margaret's mind was feeding the baby. She'd nursed all her babies until they were 2 years of age, and not nursing this soon-to-be-born infant was not an option, as far as Margaret was concerned. The solution? Margaret would express and freeze all the milk left at the end of her nursing sessions, so that when the baby was hungry and she wasn't available, Bob had a ready bottle of breast milk on hand.

Margaret Typed Out Recipes For Simple Meals That She Termed: Bob-Proof.

Margaret also worried about how Bob would handle laundry and cooking chores. Margaret made a chart explaining how to do the laundry, had it laminated, and hung up the chart in the laundry room. She also made an Excel chart that could be used as a standard for a weekly grocery list. In addition, Margaret typed out recipes for some simple meals that she termed: Bob-proof.

The Chapmans found a workable solution, once they were able to think outside the box.