Last night, I interviewed for a position teaching ACT prep for the Princeton Review. Actually, they don't call it an "interview" they call it an "audition" because the real point is to see how you act in front of a classroom. I had to do a 5 minute teaching demo on the subject of my choice. I fell back into the comfort of my museum career and taught the class how to date unidentified photos by looking at women's fashions of the late 19th century (trust me, more fun than it sounds).
I think (or rather, hope) that I may have found the perfect stay-at-home Mom job. It could require as little as 3 hours of classroom time a week, and that will almost certainly be in the evenings or weekends. No day care worries! A one-class-per-week term is only eight weeks, and if I teach two classes a week, the term is only four weeks. If I hate it, well, it's over in four weeks, so what have I got to lose? Starting pay is $18/hour, and 40 hours of paid training is included. Not only is that better than working retail (always the fallback job), it's actually better pay than I would make if I should go back to the museum.
With the excitement of a potential new baby in 2008, everything in our lives seems to relate to the adoption. Summer vacations? Well, we'll have to see where we're at with the adoption. House projects? Hmmm, what do we want to finish before we have the adoption home study? And, of course, money. Compared to what we had to beg, borrow, and steal for our hideous construction project, 10-11 grand is not so much, but still, we want to have it available as soon as possible...just in case. So this job is looking pretty good to me.
Of course, we have to keep things in perspective. When talking about my potential work situation, I proudly announce that I could put together $1000 or maybe even $1500 toward the adoption in a couple of months. Phil, as anxious as I to have the money available, furrows his brow and thinks through his options as well. "If I call a friend of mine who is starting out as an independent tech contractor, I could probably get a network installation gig. In a solid weekend, I might be able to put together $1000." 2 months vs. 2 days. It's clear why I am the stay at home parent, isn't it? Nevertheless, I'm curious to see how the job thing is going to turn out. I'll know more when I hear back from the Princeton Review on Monday. Am I destined to have it all?
