Rewind to Life as a Working Mom

I (Christina) originally posted this back in August 2008 during a week we titled, "Life as a Mom." We all wrote about how we balance our time and manage it wisely (or not so wisely). We had several requests to address those Moms that work out of the home. Even though I had recently quit my job to be a full time stay at home Mom, I still had two years as a working Mom. Here is what I shared...

I promise this will be my last post of the week! We had someone email and ask for advice on balancing life as a working Mom. I attempted to do this myself for about a year and a half. I say "attempted" because it is NOT easy. Will was born in June 2006 and I went back to teaching at the beginning of September. I worked until going on bedrest with Adeline in February of this year. I honestly do not have much else to offer and I'm hoping that a few of our readers that work will chime in.

What I can say is that it is definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done! So many things make it difficult and it is so easy to have "mommy guilt" over leaving your little one. I think I called home to check on Will every day (sometimes more than once) for his first year of life. Actually, it helped me pump more milk if I talked about him and got an update before heading to pump! That's another post though...

The only encouragement I can offer about "mommy guilt" is that if you are seeking the Lord and his will for your life and your family - then you are right where you need to be. It was my plan that I would leave teaching at the end of the 06-07 school year to stay home. In January of 2007 I had to submit a form to my school declaring my intent for the next year and after praying about it, I did NOT have a peace about staying home. I wanted to, but I just didn't feel the Lord leading me to stay home then no matter how long it had been MY plan. The following year, it came time for the same form and this time I was 100% certain that it was time for me to stay home. Pray that the Lord would give you a peace about where you are best serving your family.

I was truly blessed during my time as a working Mom to have GREAT people caring for my son. My husband stayed home one day a week to watch Will and do schoolwork. We called these "Dad days" and he was also able to do chores for me as well. My mother-in-law also watched Will one day a week and we had a sitter for the rest of the week. She and her husband are now like Will's (and Adeline's) third set of grandparents. He still sees them weekly and they love him like their own.

The only practical tip that I have to offer is to prepare everything the night before!! Pack lunches, diaper bags, school bags, my breastpump...EVERYTHING. I was not very good at this, but the days I did do it all ahead of time were SO much easier. I had time to get up, get ready, spend time with the Lord, pray with my husband and still get out the door on time.

Nothing super insightful, but hopefully it encouraged someone! Maybe someone that struggled like I did with the decision to continue working or not. If you are a Mom that works out of the home and you'd like to share this week, please email us!