To celebrate the different expressions of how moms work, the KCMB series “The Way Moms Work” follows the many ways we work in a single day. We hope this series will champion all of the work moms do, both in and out of the home, and encourage our readers to find meaning in their own work as well.
Hello, moms. I’m Jenn, and I’m a stay at home mom. A group fitness instructor. And a wellness coach.
Everyday of being a stay at home/working mom is different. Most days are crazy.
Several mornings a week my alarm goes off at 4:50 a.m. If I’m feeling rebellious, I hit snooze until 4:58, then I brush my teeth, throw on clothes, and rush to teach a 5:30 a.m. bootcamp class. Class gets out at 6:30, and I usually head to a coffee shop next door to the gym and spend about 20 minutes reading and maybe writing a couple e-mails, or possibly hit the grocery store because who wants to take three kids to the store?
I’m home again around 7 a.m., and I’m usually greeted by my two year old standing at the door without pants on. He’s not big on wearing pants. I immediately kick into SAHM mode. We do the usual morning things: cuddle on the couch, eat breakfast together, play super heroes and go to playdates.
The mornings that I’m not teaching classes or meeting with clients, I try to be fully present with my crazy littles. I might answer a couple e-mails, but overall I’m learning that I don’t go in an out-of-work mode/mom mode very well. I just end up feeling anxious, stressed and overwhelmed.
Our family is slowly learning how to do this “I’m a stay at home mom, who works” thing. Here’s what I’ve learned so far about how I HAVE TO WORK:
1) I have to have scheduled times where I’m working and times were I am NOT. You can only get so much work done sitting on the bathroom floor with your laptop while all three of your kids are taking a bubble bath (which might be what is going on while I type this post). What I’m doing right now is not the best way to work or the best way to mother, but it’s reality sometimes. In my perfect world, we have perfectly scheduled time slots where I can drink coffee and get a couple hours of work in. In reality, things are all over the place! Wellness coaching appointment here, news segment there, blog deadline two days, group exercise class tomorrow… you get the idea. But I’m trying to grow at prioritizing finding blocks to get work done so that when I’m in SAHM mode I can BE MOM and BE present.
2) I have to have childcare that I TRUST and that is flexible. This builds on point one. I have learned that I need a couple sitters that I trust and that have flexible schedules to go with my crazy, sporadic work schedule. I need sitters (and I know all moms agree) who love my kids, who enjoy being with them and who are excited about spending time with my little ones. I can leave for a meeting or go hide in a coffee shop to work for a few hours, and I know my kids are being loved and cared for and probably having way more fun then if I was home! 😉
3) I have to have my husband’s support. I could not be a stay at home/who works if my husband and I weren’t a team. We trade. We schedule. We work together. He is 100% behind me, and he believes in supporting my goals and passions.
We are growing and learning how to do this better. I love being a mom. I love spending so many hours a week with my kids. I love being a SAHM.
BUT I’m a visionary, a doer. I go crazy when I don’t have another outlet outside of the home. If I wasn’t a WFHM (work from home mom), then the wellness coach in me would have my husband and my kids on workout plans. I would drive everybody crazy at home with my wild ideas!
Working a few hours a week has helped me to learn how to be more present with my kids. I hope I’m doing it better five years from now. I hope we grow and learn and get better systems for our family. We are learning together. We are having fun. Yes, there are growing pains. But overall, being a Work From Home Mom, makes me love being a Stay at Home Mom even more.
