I am a SAHM who WFH

-
What does "working from home" mean to you? Many times when a friend or co-worker would tell me they planned on working from home I would think to myself "lucky duck, you don't have to do any real work today". I'd imagine them sitting on their couch eating bon bons, wearing sweatpants, and drinking Four Loko. They would play video games and catch up on Grey's Anatomy, stopping around lunch time to check their emails and reply with a generic response:
"I will be out of the office all day and available by phone or email - between the hours of 12:30pm and 1:00pm."

I left my job of nearly 13 years about 6 months ago because we relocated to Buffalo. I worked on my feet all day and interacted with over 30 employees a day and assisted 50+ guests a day. I loved it! I absolutely adored my bosses and created a lot of lasting friendships throughout the years. Going for the occasional after work happy hour or bringing pot luck lunches to share in the break room was an added bonus.
Now I work from home. I get to be with Miles all day AND contribute to the family income. It is a blessing. Plus, the new gig is pretty perfect. I am working as an online chat adviser. The hours are part time and split very well between Monday through Friday. That being said, holy cow it is NOT sitting on my couch eating mike and mikes and drinking wine.
I have a little corner of the living room set aside as my office space. It has a perfect view of where Miles plays so I can keep an eye on him while typing away.
 Snacks and post-its are a must

Being able to see his smiling face during a shift...priceless

There are days that Robby's schedule fits perfectly with mine and he can be with Miles while I work. On the days he has to be at the restaurant, I'm left to juggle a 1 year old who is increasingly frustrated with being cramped up in his play yard (let's not lie, it's a cage), a skittish pit bull, and work. Our team has a goal of responding to each online chat within 3 seconds. Needless to say, I can't really walk away from my laptop whenever I like. My co-workers are wonderful about allowing each other a few minutes here and there to change a dirty diaper, grab a snack, or put kiddos down for a nap. Those precious naps! I cannot be more grateful to Theresa for teaching me the importance of scheduled naps.
I am currently looking for a sitter who can help on the days I work long hours. Right now my only babysitter is every Friday at 4:00pm. Ellen Degeneres takes care of Miles for an hour, he really enjoys the time they spend together:)

Officially, I've lost my $@#t a little over 20 times. Working from home is really hard, being a mom is really hard, being a homemaker and wife is really hard. This is where I should apologize for saying all of that, but I just don't want to. I love my life, my work, and my family. The rewards are abundant and it is hard.
So the next time you meet a stay at home mom who also works from home, please give her a big hug from me.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Delivery Day

-
Image
40 weeks Miles was in breech position for my entire third trimester. When he was born his right arm went straight above his head while eating, sleeping, or just hanging out. I finally understood why it felt like he was punching me in the ribs all day long for three months. My doctor offered to perform a version in the hopes that Miles would turn and be in the right position for a natural birth. I decided against it because I was afraid of the pain and the possibility he would go right back to hanging out in my ribs. I don’t want to use the word “regret” but I can’t think of another to describe my regret in not going through with the version. I very much wanted to have a natural birth and still wish I had experienced it. We were given the option to schedule a C-section on October 31 st or November 4 th . We chose November 4 th because it was actually Miles due date but also because I did not want a Halloween baby. I woke up to use the bathroom for the thirtieth time the night...
Read more

Thong be gone

-
Image
Probably only read this if you're a chick... My torso is abnormally long. Robby and I laugh each time he attempts to slap my butt, he never fails to hit my lower back. Just looking at me you would think I have legs for days, but they’re actually quite short and nothing to write home about. Which brings me to why I titled this blog “Thong be gone”. For many years I only wore thongs (please stop reading now if you don’t want to hear more about thong wearing, the trials a tribulations of a long torso, and why I own zero thongs at this point) because I actually liked them. Thongs were the only undies that didn't give me atrocious pantie lines due to my lower than average butt placement.  You wouldn't catch me wearing white AND granny panties. But this is similar to what I might have looked like without a thong I feel it is important that you know I never, ever looked like this. Come on girls, this is always fixable and hardly ever an accident. So gross! ...
Read more

Yep, I'm blogging

-
Our breaks went out last week and the car was in the shop over the weekend.  My parents rock and mom made sure we got to Target on Saturday for baby formula, supplies for Leo the dog, Drano, and other non-necessity items that I thought we just had to have.  That always happens to me at Target!  Dad was kind enough to drive me to the shop to pick the fixed car up and while I was in the hood I figured I’d invite myself over for dinner at my sisters.  No shame!  And no groceries! The kids greeted me in their usual adorable way and we hung out for a bit before dinner was ready.  Delicious chicken burritos were on the menu and served on the back porch.  Theresa was leaving soon for a meeting at her kids school so she caught up a bit with her hubby while we ate.  Sadly, one of her friends recently miscarried and she let Russ know quietly.  Aaron has super hearing so he immediately asked “what was that mom, what happened?!”  Theresa, in h...
Read more