Disclaimer: this post isn’t meant to bash anyone, or say that being a stay at home mom is more important than being a mom who works outside the home– not in the slightest. But lately, I’ve heard a lot of questions raised about the value of stay at home moms and whether they’re really as significant as moms who work outside of the home, and I wanted to share my perspective of why working from home has changed my life so significantly. Again– not trying to bash, just trying to share my side of the story!
I’ve had a lot of people ask me “Yeah, but do you feel unfulfilled working from home instead of having like… a job?” “Don’t you just need a break from your kid sometimes?” “Ugh, I could NEVER work from home… my kids drive me crazy!” But after working from home, I realized there are a lot of perks of being a stay at home mom or work at home mom. I have a lot of opportunities that other moms don’t have, and for that, I feel really lucky.
Perk #1: I get a lot of extra tickles and giggles during the day. From the tickles I give my little guy first thing in the morning, to the random giggles I get when we’re in the car, I can’t go more than a few minutes without there being tickles and giggles involved in our day. Our morning almost always starts out with Zach trying to wake me (almost every morning, I’m awake and pretending so he can wake me). He will press his nose against mine, poke me, wiggle me, and then, I’ll jump up, roar, and tickle him until he dissolves in a fit of laughter. It’s a great thing to enjoy in the morning, right after some curled up cuddles.
Perk #2: I get endless playtime. While it’s sometimes very hard to separate work and play and create defined work hours, which isn’t so pretty, a lot of times I get endless time to play. Sometimes, it’s building a new LEGO set with my favorite guy, and sometimes it’s going to the park, but there’s always an opportunity for play in my days, and that makes for a pretty bright time. I love being able to spend time with my son in a free play time, and it’s definitely one of the biggest perks of my day.
Perk #3: Hello, coffee. An open schedule allows for Zach and I to sometimes go for coffee with our close friend, Sarah, or swing by an indoor play place, or even just enjoy lunch together. A big perk of being a stay at home mom is that, so often, my schedule doesn’t require me to be any place at a certain time (if I had a job outside of the home, that wouldn’t be the case). Since I can rearrange my schedule and my workload around these things (barring any conference calls), we get to enjoy some time out of the house at coffee or enjoy time just the two of us someplace new.
“No! I NOT sleep today, I’m readin’ books and no, no sleeping…” …uhhhh
A photo posted by Jenni Schoenberger (@mamaplus1) on
Perk #4: Naptime. No, I don’t mean my own nap (though there have been a few occasions where a late night work project led to an unexpected nap, for sure), but just that few minutes of naptime where I can take a few minutes and breathe. I love spending time with Zach, I love our unlimited adventures during the day, but I also love that two hours of quiet bliss during the afternoon where I can motor through work. Having a job that lets me set my own schedule means that this is two hours that I can spend working, tackling our laundry pile, or taking on some extra projects. Naptime is definitely a perk of being a stay at home mom– I don’t know of any of my friends working outside the home that get two hours of quiet in the afternoon to follow their dreams (most offices at least have some craziness, even).
Perk #5: Low-traffic days at museums. While many moms who work outside of the home have great chances to take their kids to museums, often it’s on the weekend… when everyone is there. Zach and I get the opportunity to visit a museum on a low-traffic week day, which means that we can usually skip the line at the aquarium or science museum, and not have to battle the crowds to see the best exhibits.
Cuddles with my best guy during Sofia the First. He’s so sweet.
A photo posted by Jenni Schoenberger (@mamaplus1) on
Perk #6. Yoga pants. Enough said. Yoga pants are a great perk of working from home. Half of the time, I don’t have to change out of my pajamas, and when I do, it’s often into a pair of very comfortable yoga pants. I will say that this has gotten bad enough that, when Zach sees me don a pair of jeans, he usually asks “Are we going to the grocery store?” Uh, no, sometimes I actually just wear jeans. Except no, no I don’t– jeans are reserved for days out, and when we’re home, I’m comfortable. Most of the time, it’s because I know I’ll be crawling on the floor, wrestling with a toddler, and generally being goofy, though. It’s comfortable regardless.
Perk #7: We can say “yes” to everything. 9am music lessons? Absolutely. 10am yoga classes? Yes! 6pm baseball? Sure! Working from home means that my schedule isn’t bound by when I am at work or not at work, and again, since I have a flexible work schedule as it is, I’m able to say yes to more for Zach when he has an interest he wants to learn more about.
Perk #8: No childcare costs, no commute costs. Since I’m working from home, I rarely have to commute anywhere. It means that we’re saving on childcare costs and on the commute, because we’re not having to go anywhere on weekdays (unless it’s somewhere fun, like the museum!) That means more funds freed up for music lessons, tickets to special exhibits, and road trips to out-of-state museums, too.
There are obviously a million other perks that I think of every day as I’m spending time working from home, and I love that, as a stay at home mom, I have so many opportunities. I know that working from home and staying from home is not right for every mom (not every mom wants to work from home or stay at home, and that’s definitely okay!), and I also know that I’m very blessed to get to do something that some moms want to do but, for whatever reason, can’t.
But the bottom line is, I lead a very blessed life, in my mind, anyway. I think any mom, regardless of their situation– work at home, stay at home, work outside the home, etc– could definitely find perks in her own life and own daily routine, but these happen to be mine. And I definitely would not trade them for the world.
What title do you hold (SAHM? WAHM? Mom? Working outside the home? Some other distinction?) and what is your favorite perk of your lifestyle? Let me know in the comments below!
