Working from home

I have a full-time job away from home. I also have a part-time job in my home. But on Wednesdays, those two worlds collide just a bit and I get to telecommute from home for my full-time job. Telecommuting is a fabulous thing. I can sit at my computer in a tank top, sweats and slippers, sipping tea from my favorite mug, and working on as many projects as I can handle. More employers should get with the program and let their employees work from home at least once a week. For me, I'm even more productive on my telecommuting days than otherwise. Instead of lollygagging, I'm focused with a set of tasks to complete for the day. Partially I think it's that accountability factor. If I can't show that I'm getting work done at home, I won't be able to keep this gig. So I get more done on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, without leaving the comforts of my own home.

It's a pretty sweet deal.  My husband's cousin is our babysitter, and she comes up by train every day to watch our son. Even today, she's here so I can be mommy milk machine but still be able to work with little to no interruption. I used to think moms who hired nannies or parents helpers were the paragon of laziness. I certainly know better now! And consider this my apology to all of those moms about whom I thought snarky thoughts.

Speaking of working, I'm living the life I'd always dreamed. Good job, good pay, happy family, etc. Lacking a few small details the basics are all in place. Silly me, though, now that I have what I always wanted I've had a mental shift and realized this is no longer "it." I went to college and got a degree so I could be a career woman. Now I want to be a mom. Making money is great and wonderful and all, but being with my son (and future babies) all day is so much more than that. When I was on maternity leave, instead of chomping at the bit to get back to work I was dreading my return with a heavy heart. I'm still not happy to be back, 5 months later.

So I've been trolling the blogosphere and internets lately, looking for work-from-home schemes and ways to make money on the side. I figure if I can become thrifty enough and find a good supplemental income, I can leave the 9-5 world behind, at least for a little while. Whenever I mention this to my friends they give me looks. You know the kind. "Oh really? That'll get old soon and you'll be back." I really don't think so. Being a mother is more than a job or a biological process, it's a vocation. And I hear it screaming in my hear, squeezing my heart and tugging at my hands. I just need to figure it out, make it work.