Working Girl

I've been asked a lot how it's going bringing Junia to work with me. My answer? Surprisingly well. I am surprised at how much I am able to accomplish with her towed along, I am also surprised at how there are some things I am actually better at accomplishing.

At work I've got a rocking chair, makeshift changing table, bouncy chair, and a large yoga ball. We usually get to work and Junia needs to eat or will chill in her bouncy chair for a bit. After she eats she'll usually sleep. So I put her in the erg0- our baby carrier (like a baby bjorn)- and sit down on the yoga ball and get to work. Junia and I bounce along. She wakes up, eats, sits in her bouncy chair and then we do the same cycle again. Though she doesn't exactly have a schedule she certianly has a cycle. Honestly I could not do my job without the yoga ball and the ergo. I also couldn't breastfeed if I didn't have such a stellar office with a bit of privacy in one area (teenage boys and breastfeeding don't mix well).

Beyond getting my usual tasks accomplished Junia is proving to be a pretty mellow baby all in all. Most of the time she cries only for a reason, she is pretty amiable, and for the most part is happy to be toted around and lulled to sleep. So with that she has a way of drawing students in. Because of her presence in my work space I interact with students that I never would have before. They are drawn in to just look at her, ask about her, or whatever. She is now part of my ministry by simply affording me the opportunity to get to know kids that I otherwise wouldn't.

There are, of course, some struggles that go with having her at work. There is the challenge of meetings. Bringing a bouncy ball to meetings isn't always an option, it is also a challenge to ensure that she is chill through meetings. There are times when I have had to feed her prematurely, bounce her, or mostly just hope that she would be chill at whatever meeting I am at. For the most part she has gone with it.

I am dreading the upcoming reality that she will not be able to join me at work. But that is for another post.