Role Reversal

Brenden "reading" 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed tonight

Great day today! Adam and Brenden came to have lunch with me. Brenden was overwhelmed by all the adults oohing and ahhing down at him in his stroller, so he started crying. I carried him for the short walk from the office to the restaurant, and he kept stretching toward Adam like he wanted to go to him. It was 80% sweet and made me 20% jealous. Adam is a wonderful dad - absolutely the best - and Brenden has great days with him every day. I love my job (more on that later), but now and then I feel like I'm missing out with Brenden. Still, I think we're doing what's best for us and it makes me appreciate our evenings and weekends more.

Once we got to the restaurant, Brenden calmed down and we had a great lunch. I had the butternut squash soup and pear salad, the perfect lunch for a rainy fall day. Brenden got in a progressively better mood as we ate, and by the time the check came he was having a very animated conversation with the lamp next to our table. The restaurant has some crazy decor with lots of rich color and lamps everywhere, and Brenden thought it was hilarious.

Work is going great. I have been thinking about taking project management classes in preparation for earning my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification, but I was nervous to ask my boss if the company would pay for it. The company is doing relatively well, but there have been a few layoffs in other departments. I decided to go for it today and ask my boss, and he was very enthusiastic. I didn't even have to ask if the company would pay for it; I just told him I was thinking about taking the classes and he said the company would pick up the tab. I still need another year and a half of experience before I qualify to take the PMP exam, but with my boss's blessing I joined the Project Management Institute so I'll have access to classes and other resources. I'm also signing up for a couple of classes to brush up on my Excel and Microsoft Project skills. My boss talked about the importance of continuing education and gave me kudos for making my own plan to move forward. Very cool!

It's ironic that I'm reading Barbara Ehrenreich's This Land is Their Land right now. I loved her book Nickel and Dimed, about her experiment working minimum-wage jobs (and almost starving to death in the process). I went to her book signing a year ago when This Land came out, and I'm just now getting around to reading it. Unfortunately I don't like it as much. From reading it you'd think every employer in the US enjoys sucking the life out of their employees. I'm sure some people can relate to that (at least people who work for Walmart), but it annoys me that her statements are so extreme. She's the Michael Moore of print journalism. I think they both have valid points, and they're right to be upset, but the exaggeration and air of moral superiority weaken their arguments.

P.S. We found a table! We didn't have any luck at local stores, so we ordered one from Amazon. We're a bit nervous about ordering it based on a little picture on the website, but the price was right and it solved our problem of how to get it home. Hopefully we're not disappointed. In a month or so Brenden will be sitting at the table with us trying out real food for the first time!