The Hardest Part About Being a Work-At-Home-Mom

Translation: “Hi Mom, I love you so much. I’ll love you forever. I hope you love me too. I wish you could spend more time with me.”

Two years ago when I quit my full-time job outside the home, I did it because I was miserable and missed my kids.

At that time, Boy Wonder, a 9-year daycare veteran, thought little about his inevitable future as a latchkey child, while BooBoo, 4 years in, wished every day that things could be different. He missed his mommy and asked a multitude of heart-wrenching questions almost daily as to why things had to be the way they were.

I didn’t really have solid answers to give, other than the fact that some mommies had to work and that I was one of them. He pretended to understand even though in his heart he didn’t. He needed me, perhaps more than Boy Wonder ever did, and I knew it.

Miserable at work and needed at home? That was enough reason to leave my job – it had to be.

So we sacrificed to scrimp and save, but this whole “mom not working” thing was never part of the plan. I left my job to pursue another career from home. So while my family was gearing up to enjoy the benefits of having mom on demand, they soon learned that the reality was more than a little different than they thought it would be. [read more…]