I-Search Intro, background

Before I had kids I worked a Monday through Friday job at US Bank in Portland, Oregon, as a customer service representative. It was your basic bank job with weekends and holidays off, vacation and sick time, and of course health benefits. I worked at the bank's call center, where customers would call in to make balance inquiries, ask for help balancing their account, or request a balance transfer. I learned the job quickly. It wasn't the most exciting job, but there were advancement opportunities. Instead of advancing there, my husband and I had our first child and moved back home to Maine. I became a stay at home mom, and two years later had another child. After my youngest was a year old, I wanted to help make ends meet financially, and started waitressing at Governor's Restaurant. I worked evenings so I could spend my days with the babies, and so my husband could be with them when I wasn't. It was hard work, but the tips were good. After the kids started school and were gone all day, I tried changing my schedule at Governor's to days so I could be with my family after school. Unfortunately, it seemed like every time there was no school because of snow, holiday, or vacation I had to work. My kids were not old enough to be left alone, so I dropped to a fill in basis at Governor's. That way I could stay home with them if they were sick or on vacation. After seven years I was really getting burned out from waitressing. With all the new restaurants opening, business and tips were down. I had also been volunteering at the kid's school and was asked if I would like to be a substitute teacher. I decided to give it a try, and filled in at the school for five years. The hours were perfect and I had all snow days and vacation days off, but the pay was pitiful. At the same time my husband and I ran a snowmobile/ATV rental business out of our home. We discovered that it wasn't all we thought it would be and closed it after five years. I decided to try to get a job at EMMC, and was hired as a unit secretary on the maternity ward. I work two twelve hour shifts a week, and figured it would be easy to schedule my two days around my kids' activities. Unfortunately, with only two other secretaries it is hard to mesh everyone's schedule. With the twelve hour shifts I am gone from morning until bedtime and am unable to help my kids with their homework on those days. I took a CNA course this past summer and have a new position waiting for me on a different floor working 6:30-3:00. This will work for after school activities but not for getting the kids to school. We live 1/2 mile from the bus stop, so it's difficult for the kids to go up alone to wait for the bus.