Many people often ask me if I’m crazy.
Not because I’m going around singing to myself, or even doing random things like working 75 plus hours per week for great pay. No, they ask me if I’m crazy because I work from home AND I’m the mother of four children. A seventh grader, a pre-schooler, and a set of ALMOST two year old twins. My clothes are wrinkled, and my hair is usually the last to get done, but I wouldn’t trade my very hectic and sometimes sleep deprived life for anything in the world right now.
You see, when the cellist (my oldest) was in school, I worked as a manager at a big box store. I was always on call in a way, and I never really had time for him when I came home, and I always left in the mornings before he woke up. It was a sad and pitiful existence. That’s why when Mr. Houseful agreed that I could come home and stay there, I was ecstatic. I’ll never forget though, that a lot of my working out of the home moms thought that my life was pretty easy. My statement to them was usually, our dynamics may be different, but sister, I work just as hard as you do.
One of the many saving graces that I have had with balancing my work life and home life (since the two happen to coexist in the same space) is having a working schedule. Just like I would have a start time if I were clocking in at a 9-5, I have a start time with Houseful of Stitches. I also take lunches and vacation days. It helps.
It’s hard to know when to shut it down when I’m working in my office as well, so it definitely helps that I have Mr. Houseful to come through if I am burning the midnight oil, and help me assess whether I should keep chugging along (when I have orders that just HAVE to go out) or if I’m killing myself slowly (trying to get orders out that I have a bit of a cushion under.) Just this last month in November, I was burning the candle at both ends by planning Thanksgiving at my house, and working on some pretty significant sewing projects. I kind of had a semi-meltdown right after the holiday as a result, so I must say that you HAVE to know your limitations. With no boss over me, and no one to tell me that I can’t put in overtime because they can’t pay, I have a tendency to keep working, and that’s just not fair to my body.
I also have to realize that if I am going to work from home, somethings are going to have to go undone for the most part, or I’m going to have to pay someone to do them. Guess what? I haven’t shelled out a dime, so I think that it’s fair to say that a lot of times, things are waiting to be done around her just a little bit longer. Oh, they get done, but I’m not as spastic about them as I used to be.
Being called a supermom has somehow made many women feel that they just MUST do it all. That’s not the truth. The main reason that I chose to be a work from home mother was to spend more time with my child at the time. Now, that I have children, the choice is even more important to me. I want to be able to take advantage of sunny days in the park, or at the zoo. Rainy days in a museum and extra days of vacation with Mr. Houseful without having to coordinate TWO work schedules. While it doesn’t always work that way with a blogging calendar, I can assure you that it’s a whole lot easier than when I was working for someone else.
I don’t think that it’s any secret that I rely heavily on my belief in God to help me through tough times that I may have when it comes to being a wife, mother and entrepreneur. There are definitely days where I think that clocking in somewhere else and dropping everyone off at their respective schools might be best for me. Then there are those days where I don’t think that I could deal with anyone else being able to interact with them the way that I can from being at home. I’m just thankful that unlike the duo Mary Mary, I don’t have a camera following me around to record every single aspect of this life that I live. I couldn’t imagine letting the world into my life outside of the blog where I can control what is shared and what isn’t. Where the editing may not be done for dramatic effect, and where if I don’t want it to be known, I just don’t post.
It’s situations like these that the three-time Grammy® award-winning gospel duo Erica and Tina Campbell face in Season 2 of WE tv’s hit series Mary Mary as they balance being recording artists, mothers, and wives. MARY MARY premieres Thursday, December 6 at 10|9c and moves to its regular timeslot on Thursdays at 9|8c, beginning December 13. Watch a sneak peek here!
Can you tell me how you balance your work life and your life as a mom? What tips can you give to those who may be having trouble? What was the best piece of advice that you got from other working mothers, whether inside or outside of the home?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WE tv. The opinions and text are all mine.
It’s situations like these that the three-time Grammy® award-winning gospel duo Erica and Tina Campbell face in Season 2 of WE tv’s hit series Mary Mary as they balance being recording artists, mothers, and wives. MARY MARY premieres Thursday, December 6 at 10|9c and moves to its regular timeslot on Thursdays at 9|8c, beginning December 13. Watch a sneak peek here!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WE tv. The opinions and text are all mine.