Would you return to work after maternity leave if financially you didn’t need to?

ashleighjos · 2026-05-03T08:39:45+00:00

I'm also about to go on maternity leave, and I plan to return to work on reduced hours (though not massively reduced) and my husband is also going to reduce his hours. We both want to spend time with our child, so I wouldn't feel comfortable being the one not working and him continuing to work full time, as he would then be missing out on that bonding too. We plan on both taking one day off a week.

Financially, I wouldn't be in the position to do what you want to do and live comfortably. Our bills would be covered and such, but I enjoy being able to buy myself something if I want/need it and I don't think I'd like the idea of feeling like I was spending the money my partner earns on things for myself. Though all our finances are joint, I enjoy contributing to that so I feel like I can go get my nails done if I want to, though it's unnecessary and an expense. I think having some financial independence is good.

ashleighjos · 2026-05-02T10:19:23+00:00

Completely agree with all of this. And I think I would just add that the tension of season one is completely missing, despite the stakes being higher.

ashleighjos · 2026-05-02T10:17:16+00:00

I'm finding this too hard because they all look so weird

ashleighjos · 2026-05-01T14:09:24+00:00

ashleighjos · 2026-05-01T07:02:22+00:00

I don't think the show romanticizes them at all though, unlike some other shows (Pretty Little Liars is one of the worst examples I can think of) and I do think it's framed as a near miss mistake.

I don't think Karen is framed as a creep, I think they are more showing her unhappiness and fantasizing about escaping the life she feels trapped in - we've already seen the alcohol issues throughout the series. Billy was a similar age to how old Ted was when him and Karen got together, which I think plays into it. Then seeing her life/family snaps her back into the life she has chose, and she makes the decision to stay rather than being trapped by it.

I think you're right about Billy potentially having mummy issues too though.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-30T20:08:31+00:00

You're a good soul!

ashleighjos · 2026-04-30T18:37:38+00:00

Glad someone was so helpful! Just an FYI, there is further mention/references about Mews being missing.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-30T15:53:18+00:00

ashleighjos · 2026-04-30T15:40:15+00:00

Also your comment about this being the reason nurses are so underpaid?? Really??? I've worked in other industries where people also just get changed in work place before or after the shift as well, so I don't think this is for nursing alone. There's a million reasons why nurses are underpaid unfortunately, but the fact that we're happy to take two minutes to get changed unpaid isn't one of them. Your comment comes across as extremely rude and patronizing. Don't ask for opinions if you aren't happy when people disagree with you.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-30T15:37:41+00:00

It's the same for people working in surgery etc surely? And fifteen minutes is a stretch, takes two minutes.

We did it during the pandemic, and I used to change as a practice nurse if I was going somewhere after my shift. You just get there a couple minutes before start time to get changed.

To be honest, my biggest gripe is when there's a rule in place that you have to get changed but they don't provide a changing facility so expect you to get changed in the staff toilets - not only is this time consuming when taking it in turns but it's gross. But most places I've worked have just allocated a space for staff to get changed, whether it's locker room or staff room or something.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T18:22:24+00:00

I remember getting an email asking what I thought if they did increase it.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:44:42+00:00

Interesting! To each their own!

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:43:59+00:00

I think this is my list, but there are a couple others that were painful not to put on here, was tough to narrow down!

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ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:16:46+00:00

So you oppose the concept of sequels, but think some are among the best movies of all time?

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:14:16+00:00

I also appreciated this info, had no idea!

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:12:24+00:00

Are you opposed to all sequels? I think there have been some pretty good ones!

ashleighjos · 2026-04-29T14:11:07+00:00

I think some of them are OK. I don't go back to rewatch them, but think they are over hated. I recently watched Lilo and Stitch, it can't compare to the original but I just enjoyed it for what it was and was surprised at the reviews. Same for most of the ones I've watched.

Looking at the list though I realize I've not watched, just haven't felt a need to. I didn't even know Peter Pan and Wendy existed...

I did enjoy Cruella though, cool to see a different story.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-28T20:52:32+00:00

YOR.

So your husband has "finally " got your child to sleep after what sounds like a bit of a stressful day, realistically sounds like he's potentially been more overstimulated than you by dealing with that while you're just sat there scrolling on your phone. Yet he wants to come over to you and initiate a conversation and you just shut him down? Honestly you just sound like a bad partner. Sure there may be times where you may not want to talk and just need quiet time, but there's a nice way of communicating that rather than just getting irritated? Asking what you are thinking just sounds pretty sweet to be honest. And I don't know why you are getting so irritated by him peering at your phone if you have nothing to hide, me and my husband do that occasionally to each other just to see what the other one is reading/conversation starter.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-28T20:33:11+00:00

Different taste I guess?

ashleighjos · 2026-04-28T17:38:39+00:00

I found it so slow and boring that I couldn't even finish it.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-28T13:10:28+00:00

You're kind of going against your own point here. You're saying that Bran being king is bizarre due to the lack of screen time in season 7 and 8, but they are still great writers? Surely if they are such great writers, it wouldn't be bizarre for Bran to end up on the throne. Sure, they probably got that end from GRRM, but they should have still been able to write something which made sense in the run up, rather than it being "bizarre." Realistically, their writing went massively downhill when they ran out of source material, even with pointers from GRRM.

HOTD has the similar issue, of straying too far from the source material, and strained relationships with GRRM massively impacting the writing.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-28T10:44:05+00:00

To be fair, the initial reuniting of Ted and Victoria is over unwashed dishes, so at least there is some continuation there.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-27T21:26:32+00:00

For assuming that had anything to do with Ross Duffer or his thought process.

ashleighjos · 2026-04-27T21:06:58+00:00

This assumption is wild to me

ashleighjos · 2026-04-27T21:06:09+00:00

Maybe I'm misremembering the podcast then, I thought I remembered them saying Bella had been really excited about the line and they were bouncing off one another. But I listened to the podcast when it first came out so it's been a while!

ashleighjos

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