When my oldest daughter was born - I knew that I would not.... could not work outside of the home. I wanted to be there for ALL her firsts... So I started my own contract processing business. It was the best time in the market to make that change - Contractors were in high demand and my little business fell into place perfectly... The business took off so fast that I ended up hiring a full time nanny to help... I was still in the home and could see Nikki anytime.... Baby #2 came into our lives and our hearts and I was lucky enough to continue as status quo. I was able to be mommy and still help with the family finances..... I had the best of both worlds... Two incredible kids, bringing in an income, and being able to stay at home....
Now fast forward thirteen (13) years.... The kids are doing great - They are both very high academic achievers - both have a lot of outside activities - from tennis to youth group to everything else in between... They are both basically very happy kids except..... they both miss me... They both want my undivided attention... They both want to cuddle.... they both want to talk and be silly..... and they are tired of coming into my office to see me... Even though my office is in our home - at times it might as well be somewhere else....
My problem is that I love what I do - I really do... I thrive on the busyness of doing multiple tasks at once - I thrive on being self employed and not having to work for someone else.... And call me crazy - I sometimes like working all day.... all night.... But with that said - my kids are not loving it....
This is a common problem among working moms - where is the line? Many times we don't have a choice.... In today's economy we want to provide what's best for our family and working is something that many of us have to do.... There are moms out there that are completely against working moms and believe that certain sacrifices need to be made and that's okay but I'm not one of those moms.... My priority in this season in my life is to continue working so that my kids won't have to when they go away to University.... My priority is to go on incredible journeys with my kids... Go to Disneyland with them as much as possible.... My priority is to spend quality time with them and making it count...
I am glad that I can work from home and I love that my kids still love to be with me... I am a very lucky mom and I know I need to put boundaries on my work time and I am working on that but with that said - college is in a very short 4.5 years and I want my kids to soak it in - love it... remember it and not have to worry.....
What do you think?
Sometimes you just have to close the door and walk away. Work will be there when you get back.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to "soak it in, remember it..."
I think it sounds like you do have the best of both worlds. I hope to find a way to bring in more income when my girls are older. Right now I work childcare at church 2x/week, and that's their daddy time. :-)
ReplyDeleteI was going to say something similar to Joan. But I think it is great that you can work from home. It's good that you are always close and your kids can come to you when they need you. :)
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