I am a mumma who works full time. I work from 8:30 until 4:30.

Love Bug goes to school. The school morning starts at 8:55 and her day finishes at 2:45 for now and 3:00 in another couple of weeks.

No need to think about it twice. You were right the first time – the math does not work.

What about out of school hours care you ask? Waiting lists. Long. Very long waiting lists. Which we are on, but the suggested time frame until we are at the top of that list? Some time next year! It’s only February.

Thankfully we got into before school care, which opens at 7:15. By the time I drop her there and get to my office it will probably be 8am. As long as Sydney traffic is behaving and it’s not raining. Because if it’s raining Sydney traffic has a total tantrum.

Yay, half an hour up my sleeve. Great, so now I can {technically} finish at 4pm.

Which still leaves a shortfall of about 90 minutes each afternoon, if we include the time it will take me to get from work to school.

Our local council is trying to get an after school program running at the community centre near our home. They have a provider to run it and a council bus to pick the kids up from school. If/when that happens, Love Bug has a spot there. If only the government department responsible for signing the paperwork would get their act together.

Sure there are after school activities I could register her for. But these aren’t free. Not that out of school hours care is free, but it is reasonably priced and can be subsidised if you haven’t run out of child care rebate.

Get a nanny? Sure, but not. Too expensive.

See where I’m going with this? Need to work more to be able to afford care. Care not available so need to work less. Anyone else getting dizzy?

Lucky for my my manager is very supportive. But there’s a limit. Cue: guilt. Guilt that you are not being enough to anyone, anywhere.

Awesome.