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Snow days stress out Kristin Clemens. She was relieved that Norwalk schools were not closed Tuesday despite the morning snow shower. However, the working mother of two boys is worried about Wednesday's snow. "I understand that safety comes first," says Clemens, whose sons attend Ponus Ridge Middle School and Fox Run Elementary Schools. "But what can I say it's just very stressful."
Last Friday, Norwalk schools were closed for the fourth day this winter.
With more snow expected and almost two months of winter left, parents are worried about juggling work with kids at home and losing pay.
When there is a chance of a snow day, Kristin Clemens and her husband, Richard, sit down with their calendars the night before and compare schedules. "We make a plan for the day," said Clemens who works at the Darien Rowayton Bank. "Some days we both have meetings, so then we'll take shifts, going back and forth from home to the office."
Clemens can work from home if she needs to but would prefer not to because she just started her job in December. "It's a new job, and I want to make the best impression possible," she says. "I don't want my boss to think, 'Oh, she's home again, watching TV and checking her email periodically.'"
Across town, Jennifer Nees, a mother of students at Nathan Hale Middle and Marvin Elementary schools, also fears more snow days but for a different reason. Nees, a sales rep at Keytag1, doesn't get paid when she doesn't work. "When there is a snow day, I stay home, since my husband is the main breadwinner," says Nees who is paid hourly at the Bridgeport-based plastic key tag manufacturer. "My job gets sacrificed. It's upsetting, but what can I do?"
Nees says the money she earns helps to pay for her children's extracurricular activities such as dance classes and lacrosse. "I'll have to think about what we can renew for the next session," she says.
How are snow days affecting you and your job? How do you juggle your work schedule on snow days?
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