Working Parents

Ren asked for submissions to the blog carnival on the following topic: "Yes, we're all "working" parents, but I'm referring specifically to parents who are earning an income. We all have unique methods of providing for our families, from cottage industry to full-time-outside-the-home employment. How does your family unschool and earn money? Do you make something, sell something or work for someone? How do these choices affect your children and your lifestyle?"
Here goes!:
John and I both work outside the home (as well as inside it and on it!!) Our schedules are both very flexible and I feel very grateful for that....it allows un enough time together and with the kids to make unschooling work. I have been working for 7 years now as the Director of a volunteer program, around 20 hours of work per week: 15 or so in my office, and a few at home on the trusty old Dell and cell phone. My kids are very much at the heart of what I do and why I do it. I believe that we all have a responsibility to give soemthing back and since I've been very fortunate to have been given so much, this is my way of giving back. I facilitate the process by which (mostly) young people can take a year and live it in service to others, most often in country or culture that is different from their own. I feel like my work is an extension of my life as an unschooler. And little did I know as a young Peace Corps Volunteer many years ago, that my life would be as it is today. I guess it has all been leading toward this moment and the life that John and I have now.
John changed jobs about an year and a half ago. What a blessing! He's now working as a Clinical Social Worker with the mentally ill population. It keeps him very busy, working one-on-one with people and really making a difference. I believe that our lifestyle really impacts his way of thinking while he is working and has positively changed the courses of the lives of his clients as he has gotten to know them.
His work also allows him to work 4 10-hour days (Wednesday through Saturday). He is the parent at home Monday and Tuesday and often the activity of choice is something outdoors. They hike a lot on those days, visit Gran in the nursing home, visit the Ecotarium, or have new adventures outdoors. They also do a lot of reading aloud. When I'm home, we are on the go: homeschool co-op, swimming at the Y, book groups, library, grocery shopping, visiting the animal shelter and the assistance dogs, crafting at home, play dates with friends, going to museums.
Unschooling really allows us to not only share our lives with our kids, but for them to be an active part of our work. They often hear me talking to volunteers on the phone, solving problems, setting up schedules for new volunteer orientation, etc. They also often hear John interacting with clients when he is on-call. Our lives are not separate from theirs. They are intertwined and I honestly believe that the conversations, the dialogue, the ability to be privy to the adult world is where their learning is. For most of our culture, parents lead separate work lives that leave their children wondering what it is that Mom or Dad does all day. As with the other parts of our lives, when I realized that integrating the kids into my work (instead of trying to find ways to leave them out), everyone can benefit.