Last week, I was out to dinner with a group of moms. All of us have children attending the same school and we were eating dinner together, discussing a bit of this and a bit of that when one of the fellow mom’s brought up that she was looking into a career working from home.
Of course, since she isn’t actually working from home yet, she was quick to point out the perks. She’s excited about the prospect of being able to work after the kids are asleep in the evening, of having flexibility, and have her uniform continue to be yoga pants. While there are numerous perks to working from home, there are also many negatives, which are oftentimes underestimated and overlooked.
While it goes without saying that being a mom is my number one job right now, being an online educator also takes up a great deal of my time and my brain power. Do I think it’s perfect for me? Absolutely. Is it perfect for all moms or even all stay-at-home parents? Not by a long shot.
One of the most challenging aspects of being an online educator who is also a mom and works at home, is overcoming the guilt associated with consistently being in the presence of my children but not engaged with them. Overtime, I’ve had to come to terms with this issue – but when I first started balancing the two, I would only work when my children were sleeping or in the direct care of someone else. With my current position, working full-time for an online university, this is no longer an option. I often find myself working while my kids cause chaos throughout my home. And I’m okay with it. My kids are old enough to entertain themselves. They are old enough to learn from boredom. And I have to tell myself that it is okay.
Also, I hope that by seeing me working they will be able to develop a strong work ethic and understand the importance of working hard and meeting deadlines. While I think homemaking is a necessary and needed trait and also something that I want to convey to all three of my children – I think showing them an example that manages to balance a home, work, and other commitments is also vital in today’s fast-paced society.
I try my best to make sure that my children are able to experience the best of both worlds – a full-time mother, as well as a mom who is working full-time. What does this mean? It means that sometimes I adjust my schedule to take the kids to the pool during a warm afternoon or to spend a day at the zoo – trading those daylight hours with the children for nighttime work. I also try not to dictate their schedule and activities solely around my work schedule. While my work is important, and there are many days when my kids hear me say “Just a minute I am in a conference call,” or “After I grade one more paper.” I feel privileged to be able to juggle the multiple roles and make working from home as an online educator and being a parent work for me.
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
