I am (32 F) and I divorced my ex husband (33 M) a year ago. I went through a transition period from being a stay a home mom to four kids ages 8, 6, 4, 2. To working nights at a restaurant 5 nights a week while also having my four kids during the weeks and their dad helping my friend watch the kids at night. A couple months after I started waitressing I ended up quitting as I wasn’t getting to see my kids very often. Flash forward a few months, I moved into a house with my four kids, my ex and I came to an agreement where we switch weeks with the kids, and I found a job at a hospital with decent pay. I get around $2,000 in child support.
My problem is that the job is thirty minutes from where I live and I’m spending almost $100/week in gas to get back and forth. I’m also missing a lot with the kids, and I do also work at the restaurant on the weeks I don’t have my kids. That being said, I can’t decide if I should quit this job, and stay home with the kids during the weeks I have them and work the weeks at the restaurant I don’t have them. It would save me money from driving and also from having to hire babysitters or pay for daycare.
Relevant information: I can cover monthly expenses between child support and my waitressing job. My ex and best friend are watching the kids while I work, he’s a farmer so it’s easier for him to watch them during the day or have his family watch them. My family lives hours away or in another state. Also my ex is not vindictive, we have a very amicable relationship.