so. went to and fro with this a lot! thanks all for the thoughts.
texx, your comments especially resonate as i feel like i am in a very special place as well, one i never imagined years ago.
lets start to say i said yes.
i met with the lady who is eager to hire me. i also spoke with a consultant i sent her way when i refused the position a year ago -a nice 50 something english guy with lots of project experience (he is working there now but took a role more connected to the swedish part of the deal and lots of travel).
lets see... the lady seems great. 1. she wants me to stay close to her in lux. as typical with these regional outsourcing deals, the biggest assets/volume are in the home country (here sweden), and thus that is the power decision making center, yet lux is offshore banking and a lot more complex. she really wants me to advise and alert her on the local level "she" will control me, i wont get sucked into the swedish head project (funny enough, they already tried by asking to meet me last week and she stepped in and said no). she is very conscious of my family and assured me we can make this work within my time constraints.
2. the consultant friend confirmed what i was hoping - the swedish cultural differences. working for an american bank they want to own you 24/7. blackberry. midnight conference calls. comments of not pulling my weight if i left before 6pm, when i started at 8am with no lunchbreak...60+ hours a week - that is really why i fled. but here he confirmed to me - they all are out the door at 5pm. and there are quite a few women he noted to me who have part time hours and leave at various times - that is fine and respected. the lady hiring me does not even have a blackberry! and she is taking 5 weeks off this summer to be with her kids, thus why she offered me to start in september only.
so... i told her i could work part time 50%, mornings, done by 12:30pm. i still have mon-wed-fri afternoons alone with cate till the girls get home after 4, and tues and thurs afternoons free so i can go swimming/park/zoo with all the girls like i have been. childcare is already set as adelaide has always continued full time with us. i can cook dinner every night...
from the 3 big kids pov they wont see me being gone.
it is a temp contract for 12 months.
i can always quit if it does not work.
so, yeah.
i have to admit it is flattering to be "in demand" professionally. there is a little spark in me that has been reignited. not sure if that is a good thing or not, lol. we shall see...
That is awesome Megan. Sounds like its pretty close to having it all - the goal of so many of us working moms! I am crossing my fingers its everything you hope. It sounds wonderful!
i'm so glad you accepted. it really seems like an ideal scenario. i think giving up work altogether is a really tough role. i'm glad youre going to have the best of both worlds. i swear there's a balance to be had! seems like you might have found it?!
If you do end up hating it and quitting, you're not quitting to go home and sit on the couch and eat bon bons, you're going home to be a mom to 4 kids full time so don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out.
