What’s better for M, working 8 hours a day and having evenings and nights with M every night, and only two full days off per week, or doing what I do now, 4 days off and three days working per week, three days where I don’t see her at all?
I go around and around and around on this. I may be able to move into a job that I like better, but that doesn’t do 12 hour shifts. I think I would like being able to come home around 4 or 5 and be able to do dinner, playing, and bedtime with M every night. I would miss those four days off per week but 8 hours is not nearly as exhausting as twelve…
I interview them tomorrow. (They are interviewing me but I have a secure job so really I’m interviewing them!) My favorite population is the elderly, and I would like to move into a role where I can do sort of case management in the assisted living setting. It has to be just right for me to consider it, especially as it would be close to where I work now, therefore still a drive. But once I move out there (when the townhouse opens up) I will be very close, and able to be home even an hour earlier. It’s just the drive that has me hesitating right now, and of course making sure the job is right. I don’t want to be a pill pusher, I want to be managing LPNs and aides and case managing for the residents. I would like to really love my job and build a community and do something that is really fulfilling.
Mother of All Things 
It would have to be the right job, of course, but I find that my spirited kid does better the more consistent and predictable things are in her life. I don’t know how much your schedule rotates, but I imagine it throws M for a loop when she goes a full day without seeing you. You’re her comfort and her stability and her safe place. That’s not to say she’s not safe with other caregivers or that she hasn’t adjusted. Kids are adaptable and she’s obviously learned that you’ll be there in the future. But it’s also something to consider in the sense of quality time and what you give up when you don’t have as many full days off–or any time off when she’s not with you. That can be a challenge, too! Good luck with your decision.
Hope the interview goes well!