Yep I work from home, I do love working from home, but it has its negatives. OK I know there are a lot of mums that work out of the home and would love nothing more than to work for themselves or have a job that would enable them to work from home....I am not saying it is the worst thing in the world -in fact it is far from it, but it does get recognised less when it comes to contributing to the household income.
When I worked outside of the home- it was full on, chaotic and disorganised at the best of times, I struggled to find balance and I struggled with my depression. I left home at 7.30am and didn't get home until 6.30pm at the earliest and the kids were dragged around with it. I couldn't afford to stay at home as we lived in the city where it is incredibly expensive and with the debt we had, I just couldn't.
Now that I work from home, I have the opportunity to keep everything organised, spend quality time with our kids and create a better balance. The difference is - I don't leave work and get a break from it -I do work on and off over the whole day rather than just 9-5, it means I work until as late as 11pm so that I can give time to the kids during the day. My days still start early - I get up and workout before the kids are up.....BUT I swear my husband comes home expecting the house to be immaculate and dinner on - when I have had a packed day of work and kid's commitments and I too only just get home at 5:30pm. Sure if I didn't have to work the house would be perfect probably....but it isn't because I too am earning some income and yes I am at home, but sometimes that's why it's messy - I have kid/s home with me and they like to play and this is a home, it is lived in and I don't want to be the cleaning natzi.
Sometimes some recognition would be nice. I don't only work at home, I taxi kids, work with the school P&C committee to help raise funds for our kid's education, I also am travelling my journey to lose weight. Yes I get defensive when you ask "what have you been doing all day?" whilst glancing around the lounge room which isn't perfectly tidy....why wouldn't I get defensive - the only thing you have noticed is what I "haven't" done - if you had noticed what I did do, then I would appreciate it, but it is rare that you realise that.
So my day today consists of battling what appears to be a nasty bout of sinus, spending an hour sorting out my shopping list to keep it within budget, doing the groceries, unpacking the groceries at home (apart from one bag), crashing out because I couldn't hold my head up any longer...and invitations work/orders. Oh and yes I did something I wanted to do today - I finally got to meet my friends new bub, who is adorable. I have put up with tired, cranky, tantrum chucking kids all afternoon yelling "I HATE YOU" because I have asked them to do something.......yep a pretty typical day for a lot of mothers out there. I finally get to sit down and clear my head and I have someone running around cleaning the house (because obviously I have failed at that today) and telling me that the kids need a their toys culled, because our son's floor is covered in toys- "that means he has too many" - I think that means that he plays with all his toys and yes, it is messy, but for a nearly 4year old he is generally very tidy and a lot tidier than the 6yr old girl. I sometimes feel that because he grew up with one toy - he expects that our kids grow up the same, yet he says that he doesn't want his kids raised like that. Unfortunately because I need to work from home it means that there are times that Charlie has to occupy himself and he loves playing with his toys and that means I won't be doing a cull as I have just taken two boxes out of his room that he didn't play with anymore. SAHM mums don't get sick days, neither do WAHMs most of the time, as a WAHM, I don't get out of the house as much as I wish I could and when I do it is usually due to appointments, necessary grocery shops and school commitments, I am probably seen as a snob in the mother's groups because I don't get to go to meet ups as much as I would like, I am seen as 'being home all day and therefore house should be spotless' and when it isn't I must of been sitting on the lunch all day. When in all honesty - I only get to "sit" on the lounge for one hour a day at the most to watch programs I like, then I have to work. During the day the TV is on so I can hear the other shows I don't mind, but I don't get to sit and watch them.
So next time you walk through the door after being at your job all day, take a look for what's been done, have a look at my pays that get deposited and my commitments that our kids will remember for a lifetime. The kid's won't care about an immaculate house when they are older, they will care that their parents spent time with them and had fun with them - those are the memories that are left behind.
Don't get me wrong I love my husband to death and appreciate all that he does, I (like most women) get frustrated too.
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