\My name is Jenna Sorensen and I'm a 42-year-old mother of two precious girls, Amy 15, and Alexa 13. My husband Alex is 44. We've been married for 17 years and I've always loved my family and my life. I worked for several years as a personal assistant up until the time when Amy was born and I decided to raise my children rather than pursue a career. Alex is a very successful corporate attorney and we can live with just his income. Until recently I've been a stay-at-home mom. Now that the girls are older and I have more time on my hands I decided I wanted to do something outside the home but I wanted something that was flexible and had reasonable hours that allowed me to care for my family. They have always been and continued to be my priority.
My good friend and neighbor Melissa Knowlton was a nurse at the local hospital. We were having coffee on her day off and I told her about my desire to get out of the house a few days a week. She then told me, "Hey Jenna, you know the hospital is always looking for transportation team members both full and part time." I gave her a bewildered look before I chimed in,
"Sorry Melissa, I don't have a commercial license nor do I want to drive an ambulance."
It was Melissa's turn to look bewildered before she burst out in a fit of laughter. I asked, "What's so funny!"
Melissa finally calmed down and told me, "Jenna, I think you're a bit confused. The transport team is what you might have referred to as orderlies years ago. Now we just call them transportation team members. They transport patients to and from various tests and procedures and when they leave the hospital. They push wheelchairs and gurneys."
I asked, "Melissa, do they have any part time positions open?"
"Let me check." She pulled up the virtual bulletin board on her phone where open positions were listed. She looked and then said, "Good news Jen, there is a part time position open and it is from 11am-3pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's just 12 hours a week and no weekends or holidays! It pays $12 an hour. That would be $576 per week."
"You know Melissa, I don't care about the money but more about getting out of the house. Though, it would be nice to have some mad money to spend that I can call my own. Do you think they would hire me?"
Melissa said, "Give me a sec." she left the room and was gone about ten minutes. When she returned, she said, "Go see Laura Angstrom in human resources. Bring you driver's license and social security card. You start on Monday. Laura and I go way back. She said she's had trouble filling the slot because no one wants that short shift since it's not enough to make a living on. I gave you a glowing recommendation and a letter of reference. Here's your copy."
I jumped up and hugged her as I said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is perfect." We spent the rest of the morning gossiping. I met with Laura Angstrom at 11:45am and she had me fill out all the necessary paperwork. Melissa had told me where I could get the proper scrubs so after I left, I ran out and bought five pairs. I had a quick lunch and headed home. The girls had soccer practice which gave me time to try on my new uniform before I did laundry and started dinner.
Some might think I was dissatisfied with my life or was jealous of my husband. The fact is I wanted and decided to be a stay-at-home mom and Alex had the means for us to do it and supported me one hundred percent. He would've supported me had I decided to work as he wanted me to be happy and content with my life choices. I was.
The girls arrived home at 4:30pm and ran off to their room to put away their bags and put their dirty clothes in the hamper. They made their way back downstairs and sat to watch some TV after they set the table. Alex arrived at 5:30pm. He walked up to me and gave me a great big kiss and said, "Hello babe it's good to be home." He took care of his briefcase and went in and said hello to the girls. After he went and changed, I called them all in for dinner. The girls regaled us with their exploits on the soccer field during dinner. After dinner, the girl's helped me clean up before they went to their room to do their homework.
As soon as I entered the family room Alex looked at me and said, "Jenna what are you busting at the seams with?"
"Oh babe, guess what? Now that the girls are so busy with school, sports, and friends and are out of the house more than in I've decided I want to do something outside the house as well. I had coffee with Melissa today and told her about what I wanted to do and she hooked me up with a part time gig at the hospital as part of the transport team that moves patients to and from whenever and wherever they needed to be within the hospital. It's only for four hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11-3. I met with the director of Human Resources this afternoon and I got the job. I start Monday!"
Alex seemed a little surprised as Jenna had never mentioned anything to him about wanting to work. Jenna saw the puzzled look on his face she reacted by being a bit put out. She added,
"You don't need to worry! My family is still my top priority! I'll be home in plenty of time to take care of things so your life won't be disrupted at all!"
Alex was again surprised by her ire. He looked at his wife and said, "My dear, I was surprised because you never mentioned to me that you had been considering working outside the home only to discover that you've already interviewed and accepted a position. I wasn't concerned with an interruption to my life or routine I was just curious why you never bothered to discuss it with me when we've always discussed all major life decisions, until now. Congratulations. I've got work to do." With that Alex left the room and headed for his study.
I realized I had perhaps been a bit unfair with my anger but I still felt Alex's reaction had been a bit too disappointing. I hadn't realized until that moment how much I looked forward to my new job. I thought I deserved Alex's support and hoped that he'd be as excited for me as I was about my new venture.