Even with additional support for Mom's bathing, personal care and home care needs, I have found it extremely difficult to work a regular 5 day - 40 hour week for paid employment.

I am lucky in that my employment is largely done in my home office.

I have set up an auxiliary office on the main floor of the house to work when there is a caregiver with Mom in her suite.

I can work from my desk in Mom's suite when I am looking after her and there is an opening, or I can go upstairs to work alone when there is a caregiver with Mom.

With this arrangement I have been putting together between 2 and 6 hours of paid work a day.

It means that I typically have been working 6 to 7 days a week to meet the requirements for my full time job.

Today my employer and I decided we need to reduce my job from full time salary to part time hourly because his business cannot support a full-time project manager and I have not been able to increase other work for the company to bring commensurate value for my time.

On one hand I am relieved to be free of the exhausting effort to put together a full time workload by working everyday of the week.

On another hand I am disappointed that I wasn't able to build out my position so that I could keep my full time salaried position.

On another hand I am excited to be able to develop other work opportunities that have been waiting for me to make the time.

On another hand I am anxious about how all this is going to work out - how are we going to maintain a household in this city with both of us working to put together full time hourly income?

We have taken on the responsibility of providing for my mother - shelter, food, clothing, social connection, housekeeping, exercise, medication, etc.

We still have to pay our mortgage, house insurance, utilities, communications, transportation, etc.

The path forward is not clear, except for one fact.

Mom is here to stay.

We wouldn't have it any other way.