I Was Supposed to Be Part of the Solution....

I mentioned back in March (click here for previous blog post) that I returned to work part-time at a friend's legal practice. A old college friend called one morning, waking me from my mid-morning nap, and offered me a job at his law firm answering phones, light clerical work, etc.

The hours were great (9 am to noon), the atomosphere relaxed so I said yes. The entire reason he called me was because he had an admin person working for him 2+ years that he really liked, but that she had issues and couldn't make it to work on time. The idea was that if she couldn't make it to work for 9 a.m., then I'd work 9 to noon and she'd come in for the afternoon shift. A win-win situation, right?

Except....she had trouble coming in by noon. It seems that no matter what time she's expected in, she arrives at least two hours later. This isn't a lazy person, mind you. Far from it. Very nice, very detail oriented. She just has some personal issues that need to be addressed.

My friend/boss made the tough decision to let her go yesterday. So instead of being the 'backup to answer phones in the morning,' I'm now the 'replacement.' And I'm not sure how I feel.

I like the work, but I'm not immune to the fact that this other woman was only a phone call away to answer my questions. Plus, while I don't mind increasing my hours a bit come autumn when the kids return to school, I don't really want to put in extra hours during the summer when the kids are at home. He's looking to see if any college-age students might be interested in summer afternoon work. (Can party at night, sleep late, work noon to five - occasionally later --- sounds pretty good.)

As for me, I don't want to be a full time admin assistant. Been there, done that. I lack the proper attitude for it. Besides, I'm a full time mom, part time jewelry designer/entrepreneur (humor me). I don't want secretarial work to become that big a portion of my life and crowd out any of the other parts.

And so it goes...