Working 9 to 5

Last year I went out and got myself a job. This definitely wasn't my first job! I've had many jobs throughout my life. I started, as many people do, working in retail to pay for my various wants and saving for a rainy day while in high school. In college, I worked a variety of jobs to pay the bills. Immediately after college, I taught English in Japan. Then I moved into the corporate world.

I worked for a huge company for 11 years. There were good parts and... challenging... aspects as I worked my way up the corporate ladder. I got to be part of a team and I learned a lot about myself and my potential. I was really good at my job (if I do say so myself) and I felt a level of satisfaction from my successes.

But, after I had my son, my priorities changed. Suddenly, I wasn't interested in "playing the game" anymore. I simply wanted to do my job and then rush home to spend as much time with my son as I could. Being a working mom is incredibly difficult! The balancing act is intense and never seems to even out.

Just a few days shy of my son's second birthday, I quit my job. I walked away from a regular paycheck, a regular schedule, and everything I had worked so hard to achieve (in the corporate world).

Over the past 6 years, I have rarely missed any part of working beyond the paycheck and the friends. I have had an incredibly wonderful time being a stay-at-home mom. Of course, it wasn't an easy profession either! The balancing act of working outside the home is extremely different than the balancing act of the stay-at-home parent, but it is still there and intense! I must say, I never had to deal with crying meltdowns on trains when I worked in an office.

In Japan, it is still the norm for women to leave their jobs when they have kids to stay at home at least until they start school. The percentage of stay-at-home parents that I personally know is much higher in Japan than it was in the US.

When my son started elementary school, COVID-19 had just arrived on the shores of Japan. We were officially in a pandemic. During the first 6 weeks, I homeschooled my son. Then, he headed into the classroom. And I was all alone. Well, my husband was upstairs working in the office we set up for him in our bedroom, but I'd only see small glimpses of him when he'd refill his tea cup or come down for lunch. My reality was me feeling more isolated than ever.

Since moving to Japan, I have often felt lonely. Between physical distance, language barriers, and what-have-you, it is really hard to form tight bonds when you live in a foreign country. Although I've always had my boys, they are definitely not girlfriends! Only seeing loved ones through a screen has been incredibly challenging for my heart and soul.

After a LOT of prompting from a friend, I applied for a job as a relief teacher at an international school (meaning: the classes are taught in English and use a European teaching philosophy). This way, I could be around other English speaking people (people who know what it is like living abroad), but still be master of my own schedule. I was worried that I wouldn't be hired because I had been out of the workforce for 6 years AND I sometimes needed to have a day off because I needed to be with my son. Even with all my "what ifs" and so forth, it didn't matter. They needed teachers and I needed something to do. In the end, my experience and enthusiasm earned me a position and I was quickly put to work.

Since starting, I have taught kids between kindergarten and eighth grade. I've helped kids with reading and math and art. I have met so many friendly faces and found a new source of joy. Whenever I leave a classroom, I am refueled in a way I haven't been in a very long time. I have reconnected with a side of me that I desperately missed, and didn't even know it. Being in this particular environment has been so important to my mental health.

I was recently explaining to someone that teaching is extremely selfish for me. All of my reasons for showing up are about me. I am there to be a part of the community. I teach because I like feeling like I am helping people. I gain so much by being a part of something where the sole purpose is encouraging others to succeed. In this particular sea of people, I feel like I belong and I am wanted. And more often than not, I get to spend my day hearing kids laugh and get excited about things.

For the longest time, I was really unsure about getting a new job. I had so many reasons to not do it. But in the end, it has been a really good thing.