Saturday, January 19, 2008

Getting Ready for the Return

I am going back to work next Tuesday. As I enjoy this last weekend at home with my newborn son and wife, I hearken back to when my first son was born. At that time I was working for an international organization that understood how important it was to have time off when a major life event occurs. I was given eight weeks of paternity leave PAID after the birth of my first son.

This time, as a newly minted federal employee, I accrue leave at a snail's pace. The only way I have been able to stay out this long has been through the generosity of my colleagues who donated their leave to me. I was out of leave a week after the birth of my son.

Mrs. Brave Astronaut will be out for another two months. She has advanced herself sick leave to give her a few more weeks of paid leave. However, she will not be able to take sick leave for two and a half years. She is also on a donated leave list, but to some arcane second class employment status, she will likely not get very much, if at all.

All that being said, I have been given the opportunity to work at a different location for the next month. It will allow me to bring my older son to school in the morning and then literally walk across the street to work. It is going to be sweet. We are going to have to leave right on time though, no dawdling.

And evidently no hitting the snooze button. Especially if I buy this alarm clock. But if someone buys me this mug, I won't have to fix my own coffee.

3 comments:

Lana Gramlich said...

Those products are too much! Congrats on the work adjustment--that sounds perfect for you!

david mcmahon said...

G'day from Australia,

Came here from Lana's blog. As a dad of three, I can tell you that hitting the snooze button is fraught with impending delay/ possible mayhem/ faux disaster.

Good luck to Mrs Brave Astronaut and the mini-Brave Astronauts.

Amy said...

Hey! I called dibs on that coffee mug!

Right now I have my Television without Pity mug on my desk. Since I rarely wash it, it has a helpful "fill to" guide line on the inside. That's almost as good as having a pre-printed color code, if one is not too hung up on concepts like "hygiene" and "germs."