As a work at home mom….you’re constantly being torn between domestic work, child rearing and job-work.
Do you throw in a load of laundry, start fixing dinner, try and write a blog post or help someone with their homework?
It’s a constant mix of work….work…..and work. I’m not saying it’s bad…..but I am saying it’s exhausting.

Now….don’t get all bent if you work outside the home and feel just as much pressure. I got that. I do. But if you were
working at home….you’d find yourself pulled in a lot more directions. Even when I was on-air in radio with a huge

board in front of me, CD players stacked high….maybe guests in the studio, the phone ringing, contests to prep for….a show to prep for….I did not feel as pulled. That was cake compared to being a work at home mom.

So….here I sit….11:30PM and I’m tired. I’ve not really had any down time to speak of today and I really need to get to “work”. Just like this post….what am I going to write about? I don’t have any ideas. I feel to tired to research something or to try and be witty. The kids have been home for weeks on Christmas break and now they’ve been home all week for snow. I’m getting “twitchy” and easily annoyed. I was startled today by a dust bunny in the corner of the stairs. I swear I thought it was a rat….a BIG rat. Nope….just cat hair, dog hair, people hair, dust….dirt. Yuck. Do I stop what I’m doing to drag out the vac and get it? But wait…I need to fix dinner….or maybe feed the dog…..or the cats…kids….get groceries….the toilet is plugged up. Damn….the battery in the car is dead?? Dentist appointments in the morning….don’t forget that poster board for the history project your daughter is doing……blah blah blah blah blah…..

Yep…I’m tired. I can’t think anymore.
So good night.

Sleep well.
Even you dust bunny.

OK….
I’m not going to name names, but my friend (Dana) thinks that by getting to work at home…..
::rolls eyes::
I have it…“easy”!

No….I am not mad at my friend (Dana) – because she’s a school teacher.
A SCHOOL TEACHER.
Now I could….go on and on about how she gets summers off, holidays off, short work days, benefits….blah blah blah.
BUT – if I do that….I bet I’d get hate mail from lots of school teachers that profess to me the long hours, snippy parents, absent parents, bratty kids, snotty sick kids, late hours grading papers and planning, volunteering to
run after school programs and activities, school events…..and on and on and on.

I get it.
I do. I get it.
My kids, of course – perfect.
They never cause their teachers issues….so I don’t contribute to their woes.

But just like moms that work outside the home – working at home is TOUGH. I’m not crying in my 5th cup of coffee here – I’m just being honest. And after 9 years of doing this – I think I can make a comment. I think I can offer up some insight. (Whether you want it or not!) And you’d think my friend (Dana), would have listened to all my bitching over the years to conclude that working at home is NOT easy. Pick your ears instead of your nose Dana! I say that with LOVE. Really….I do. I will stand in front of your house in Iowa with a boom box over my head that plays, “In Your Eyes” and yell…“I love you Dana!!” if you need me to!

Working at home comes with a special array of issues and frustrations. First of all….you’ve got friends that don’t believe you’re “really” working. They think you’re playing office or some weird crap. Like we used to play cash register girl when we were little! I don’t sit here with post-it notes, a calculator and a phone  pretending to work.
Hell no.
I am WORKING.
I’m not playing online mahjong, I’m not staring at Facebook playing Farmville or taking quizzes, I’m not Twittering that I’m on Facebook playing Farmville, I’m not making cutsie little web cam videos, I’m not talking on the phone with girlfriends, my husband or my Mom.
I am W O R K I N G.
I am writing, researching, dealing with advertisers, studying SEO, implementing SEO, maintaining and updating nine websites, bookkeeping….blah blah blah….
On top of that…for years I had kids under my feet while I was doing it. While I was trying to learn HTML, SEO, and everything else. You have no idea the HELL that this is. You are torn, tired and teary.
But once your kids get in school….it almost gets worse. For one….you’re older….and you’re more tired. You’re dealing with your body and face not being so “perky” anymore. You can lose days of work just pondering how much older you’re going to look and how fast that is happening. DAYS!!!

Then there’s all the activities that school age kids are in. School events, homework, sports, dance, girl scouts, boy scouts….you find yourself in the car A LOT. The car has become my sanctuary at times. I read when I’m waiting. It’s the only time I really get to read something that I want to read. I poop at the speed of light…so bathroom reading time….ummm….not really a perk for me. I’m a “poop and run” person.

You also still have laundry, cleaning, cooking, pets, doctor visits…and all that other good stuff that all moms have to do.

Working at home means….never having a real solid block of time to get anything done. You multi-task EVERYTHING. You don’t get to “go to work” and focus on “work”. That just doesn’t happen. I don’t remember when I worked full time in radio anyone ever needing me to change their diaper or crying because someone
hit them in the face with a toy. Yes….we had our fair share of weirdos there….but really…no one crapped their
pants and asked for help. At least….they never asked me….because I would have gone on the air and told everyone about it.

Working at home has it’s pitfalls. Just like any other job. And I don’t get health insuarance or 401K. I don’t get PAID holidays….I don’t get summer’s off like SOME jobs. I do get the perk of flexibilty, not paying daycare and being here if my kids need me. That might just be worth more than health insurance or 401K. Yes…I think it is worth it – at least to me. (My kids will support me in my old age, right??)

It’s tit for tat.
It’s just not easy being a working mom. But thank God it’s women doing the working and momming for the most part. We are fabulous multi-taskers.

But it’s never easy. Not for any of us.
Well…..except for school teachers.

Just teasing (Dana).