why you did it?
After having my first son and enjoying a luxurious 6 month maternity leave (mostly unpaid, boo), I couldn't imagine going back full time. I had a crappy commute and felt like it was time to either downshift or find a different job so that I would be able to at least not spend as much time commuting when I could be with my son. (It was max 1 hour each way, more like 30 minutes in the mornings.) So I pushed hard for half time, and eventually went up to 3 days/week because the commute, it just made sense to me to do 3 full days if I was going to bother going in on 3 days.
what your downshift looks like?
I worked M,W,Th for about 2 years until having my second son.
what do you like about it?
I liked that I got to continue to be intellectually challenged and interact with adults in a work context. Solving problems, feeling valued for my tenure at the company, etc. In total I was there 9 years. I also liked that I could do playdates with my first son and some stay at home moms, and felt kind of like I was bridging two worlds. I also got some pretty sweet benefits that I was fortunate applied to me even in my part time state. I also loved having the extra time with my kiddo, but not so much that I wanted it every day of the week, constantly. I felt like it was a pretty good balance when I only had the one kiddo. My husband is also off on Fridays so the extra time with him was great, too!
what isn't so awesome about it?
It always felt like I wasn't fully in one world or the other. I had set days of day care, and occasionally would have to ask for an additional half day or full day if they had availability because there was a meeting I couldn't miss. Or I'd miss a fun team lunch because it was on my day off. Also, SAHMs would try to schedule with me and unless they stuck with my day off, I would be the difficult one to schedule with. They would have activities like music class or something on the days I was off, so I'd barely see them, or they just wouldn't think to invite me to things and then I'd have the awkward bump into them on the bus moments.
what are your plans going forward around downshifting and FIRE?
So actually, I went back to work after having my second just recently, thinking I would continue with the same 3 day/week schedule, and it was a little like my first time going back in that part of me hated the idea of not spending time bonding with my kids all the time, but I also loved the idea of not being with two small kids constantly. It turns out they didn't want me back unless I converted back to full time, so I said goodbye. I now have been enjoying even more extra time with my kiddos, bonding with my au pair, and doing a lot of cooking, some volunteering, and somehow still feeling very busy despite not working and having up to 45 hours/week of child care. I still feel like 2 young kids is a full time job even if the hours are just shifted to middle of the night wake-ups and evenings/weekends, and honestly I stick around and help or chat with my au pair a lot of the time too.