It’s back to work I went. 2 days in the office and 1 day from home, it didn’t seem like a bad deal at all, just like I used to before Ellie came along. Except that I also used to have just one child who was relatively easy-going. Now I have 2 kids, one of which is pretty clingy (she’s worse than a boomerang attached to a bungy cord) and doesn’t like books, puzzles or DVDs or anything self-entertaining.
Then, barely 2 weeks after my return to work, Ong Ngoai decided that maybe it’d be a smart idea to have this 2cm tumour on his head finally checked out and removed. So in order to provide support for my parents, I showed up on Monday and told Irene I wouldn’t be back on Tuesday or the week after as I’d rather be in the tropics. Lucky I have an employer who’s flexible and has the means to allow me to work remotely. The trip was short, sweet and smooth(ish) with the exception of our journey there which included an extended stay at the airport while the plane’s brakes were being fixed. Oh, and I’m never again flying on my own with these two kids of mine.
Work itself - bliss! Although I have to drag my sorry freezing butt out of bed at 6:30am and have a rather ambitious document and training session to deliver to our most important client, my day at the office is so restful. I have yet to have my co-workers cling on to my legs, I haven’t had to wipe food off anyone’s face (Guy even shouted me lunch today!) and as much as I enjoy asking Nico about his day and pointing out animals to Ellie, discussions around combat simulation software and Closed-In Weapon Systems are proving far more interesting.
On the downside, none of the programmers are as cute as Nicolas and Eloïse… When I feel like a hug or a kiss no one in our 400-strong office seems like a suitable candidate… Listening to Stephen humming Hallelujah isn’t as endearing as Nico singing Little Peter Rabbit… None of the systems engineers’ faces light up with gummy smiles when they see me… and I can’t help but wonder how much I’m missing out when I sit at the computer instead of spending more time with the kids.
Guess you can’t have it all.
At the worst I can always send them to work instead of me. They did just fine in Vaughan’s office.
Eloïse is 14 months and is walking very steadily now and loves being chased around. She’s very confident when out and about and is quite happy to explore the world without me. Must remember to attach bells to her before going out. Her canines have just come through. I’m not looking forward to the molars, they’re the most painful ones. She’s not eating with a spoon yet. I’ve been too chicken to give her a spoon for fear of seeing food flung onto my books. Maybe we should have lunch outside with Loki on stand-by for cleaning duties.
Nicolas’ English has massively improved since daycare and kindy. In the last few days he’s stringing proper sentences and it’s become increasingly difficult to get him to speak French or Vietnamese. Dutch seems to be less of a difficult act since it’s being reinforced within Papa’s family so that’s at least a good thing. He’s almost 3.5 years old. Loves my iPad and my Leatherman and my phone and Papa’s camera.
