Tiffany Raiford
Every woman is different. Each of us has a different idea of what we want out of life, and each of us has a different way of going about it. But each of us that has a child understands that the balance and the ability to live life the way we want is always a bit of a challenge. We all want to find the perfect balance of being a good mom, a good wife, a good role model, a good example and we all want to be everything to everyone. We want our kids to know they’re our priority and we still want to feel that we have an identity. For me and many other mothers out there, this means being a work-from-home mom. For me, it really does pay to be a mom who works from home. The payment is more than just monetary, too. It’s so much more than just that. If you are, or are looking to become, a work-from-home mom, let me help you understand that the reward of being home and working at the same time is worth it.
You Get to Do What You Love
When you find a career that you love, and for me it’s writing, you get to do what you love, stay home with your kids and get paid for it. This is such a rewarding feeling. It’s also nice to be able to work from home because you’re doing it out of love of the job and not out of necessity. You’re in a good mood because every day is your day and every day is a new day in which you get to do it all and be a super mom.
You Get to be with Your Kids
The best thing about being a work-from-home mom is that you get to stay home with your kids. You’re there all the time. You do have to work, but you can do it on the front porch while the babies are napping and the big kids are riding their bikes on the drive. You can work from the couch while the kids are watching “Frozen” for the 780th time and get to spend time with them while multitasking.
You Never Miss Performances
When our daughter is named character kid of the month in her class, which she is a lot, she gets a little awards ceremony at lunch at school. I have never missed one. I’m also allowed to go have lunch with her anytime, and I love that. I love that if she asks me to come have lunch with her one day, I can say “Okay,” and just go do it without any thought.
Sick Days aren’t Much of an Issue
When the kids are sick and you’re not, you have to use personal time or vacation days if you take off a day from work. If you work from home, you probably don’t even have to take the day off. Sure, sometimes you get sick and your kids are all sick at the same time and you find yourself overwhelmed and in need of a day off, but it’s a lot simpler than taking a day off from a job knowing that you’re missing work for a cold and that’s one less performance you’re going to get to go see.
You Never Miss a Milestone
Baby’s first steps, words and everything else are always right there for you to see. Even when I’m working, I’m in the same room as the kids. I have a big, beautiful office here at home and I rarely use it because my computer goes where they go. And when they’re napping, I’m on one of my porches because I work better when I’m in gorgeous surroundings and beautiful weather. But I never miss a milestone, because I’m always right here.
You Save on Daycare
I say this a lot, but for those who don’t know, I have four kids. Our oldest will be 7 this summer, our ‘middle’ daughter just turned 4 this week and our twins turned 1 this week. If I worked outside the home and sent my kids to daycare, I’d be paying a LOT of money every week. Instead, I only pay for school for my 4-year-old because she wanted to start going to school when her sister (now in 1st grade) started going to VPK. How do you argue with that?
You Bond with Your Kids
I get to hang out with my kids more than most people, and that’s a huge reward of being home. I get to bond with them so when I do leave them, they know I love them and adore them. Because I am with them all the time, they are not difficult to leave if my husband and I want a weekend away. They think of it as just as much a vacation as we.
You Stay in the Work Force
A huge benefit of being a work-from-home mom is getting to stay up-to-date in the workforce while also being home with the kids. If ever you want to go back to work, you haven’t spent many years out of the working field, so that looks good on your resume and keeps you feeling a bit more confident in your abilities. It also gives you a huge edge.
You Create the Schedule
I’m not going to lie; this is not always as glamorous as it sounds. Sometimes you find yourself working late when you’re tired, or early when you’d rather be in bed. This is because you sacrifice the baby’s nap time work hours to play with the big kids outside on Spring Break. But you get to make memories with your kids, live your life, and work when you have the time, and that’s always nice.
You Get Paid to Be Home
It is actually really nice to earn a paycheck when you don’t technically have to leave your house. Getting paid to stay home with the kids and still do what you love is really, really nice. I’d recommend this to anyone, anytime.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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