Image borrowed from It's a WAHM Thing
While browsing through my e-mail one day I saw this post and it really made me miss being a work at home mom. In the post the blogger states the frustrations but also the many (more) advantages of being a work at home mom and I completely agree with both sides.
I was a work at home mom from the moment my daughter was a year old until two years ago and I used to absolutely love to be home with my little girl. Before choosing to work from home I was hesitant to make that huge change. The change from going to work every day and being social with my fellow employees to working from home and having no interaction with anyone else I work with or the outside world. (not to be dramatic!) Though, the more I thought about being able to be home with my daughter and being able to watch her grow up, the more I wanted to make the switch. I was glad I did.
The main advantages, for me, were as follows:
#1. Being able to see her grow up. That was a huge thing for me. As a first time mom, at that point, I did not want to miss a second of her being a baby. I had already regretted that I went back to work (outside the home) right after my 6 weeks was up until the time she was a year old. I know, I was a single mom and that's all I could do at that point, but I feel like I missed a lot of her actual infancy. I didn't want to miss another minute of any firsts for her. I'm big on milestones and recorded absolutely everything that she did, so I was very happy that I would get to continue that.
#2. Being able to make my own hours was also a huge advantage for me. For the first few years I worked with two companies that contracted at home workers, but I was still able to choose my own schedule. I was able to work around my daughter's schedule, take breaks when she needed something and was still able to take care of the house while I had some downtime. I loved being able to work when I was able to.
#3. The challenge to stay motivated was also a huge deal for me. I love to challenge myself and this was a big one. The transition from working outside of the home to working at home was definitely more difficult in that aspect. Why? When you work outside of the home you have a boss breathing down your neck every minute of the day. You have a boss to tell you what to do and when to do it...when you work at home it's just you, in your home, with PLENTY of distractions. So challenging myself not to turn on the TV, pick up a book, chat on my phone or letting the dishes in the sink nag me! It was hard to stay motivated in the beginning, but once I got a momentum going it was much easier. I loved it.
Those are the top three reasons I absolutely loved being a work at home mom. Why did I feel I had to write this post? Well, today I was offered a promotion at my seasonal job to become Office Manager and I accepted the job. I'm not feeling sad about it at all, in fact I'm extremely excited to have gotten this promotion. It's a huge honor and one that I will take on head first and combat my way to success. However, I wanted to look back and let others know that working from home is completely do-able and a great opportunity if you have young children or are a single mother. I may be working outside of the home now, but I wouldn't trade my work at home days for anything in the world.
