A wise old friend of Nina’s (Maridel, are you still there among our readers?) once told her, “Be careful what you wish for because it might come true one day.” One Sunday night about two weekends ago, a stressed out Nina was up late busily preparing for the week ahead. She had to pack because the next day she was leaving for leadership training with the company, leaving the kids for 2 nights 3 days with Kevin for the first time since Elise was born. Nina was also stressed out thinking about her sister struggling with breastfeeding a new baby and her parents in Germany who came back from a trip to the US to a flooded basement and needed help cleaning and translating the German insurance documents. Envious of a friend who at a very opportune time got laid off from her job and was able to use the extra time to finish building their house, Nina rashly exclaimed to Kevin, “I really should be helping my family now but am so busy with work and life in general, I wish I would get laid off with a severance package so I can take time off to do things just like our friend, A.”
Famous last words…next day, after saying goodbye to kids and with bags packed for the training, Nina sets off to work. One hour before she was due to drive to the training, she gets called to her boss’s office. To her surprise, the HR Director is also there. Her boss then starts off with, “Today is one of the saddest days in my career because I have to inform you that your position was cut…and of course, you don’t have to leave to your leadership training now” or something like that. It was a complete shock and everything that happened the next two weeks was a blur. Is this a dream? Is this really happening? Yes, after seven and half years of dedicated service to the company, it was really happening. Not only did she really like her part-time job as Financial Controller in charge of compliance, (perfect for a working mom), she also really liked and will miss her colleagues who she’s known for so long...
Long story short, Nina is now in transition as she takes advantage of the time to finish much-needed family projects and to think about what she really wants to do next professionally. There are a lot of other activities to keep her busy in the mean time: This year she’s serving as the vice chairperson / treasurer for the Japanese playgroup that Kenneth attends twice a month. She enjoys experiencing “Japan” in Switzerland by attending the play group sessions and as treasurer she can also maintain her financial skills in addition to her Japanese. She’s also in the parents' committee for the church program for young children (“Müslichile”—literally church for baby mice) that Kenneth has been attending since he was small. Finally, she is taking her third Swiss German course on Thursday afternoons. She has a lot of fun trying to speak Swiss German and learning about the Swiss culture. On top of all that, she wants to do a better job of keeping this website up to date. If anyone has some ideas for a flexible business venture or leads on part-time jobs that can combine well with raising young children—Nina will be more than happy to hear from you!
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