Confessions of a WAHM

Family Tymes
34 Williams St.
Batavia, NY 14020
585-813-2487

Life Lessons

Confessions of A WAHM of Teens

Women work at home for different reasons. Some choose to work at home because of the flexibility it gives them. Some choose to work at home because they want to be their own boss. And some, wanting to raise their families full-time, choose to work at home because a job outside the home takes them away from this awesome responsibility. Those in this last category often call themselves WAHMs.

Since I’ve been a stay-at-home mom, I’ve always had lots of jobs to help pay for the “extras” in our family. Nothing was ever really long term, just some freelance work here and there, usually where the kids could help me out. My children were always the priority. Personally, my role in the family hasn’t been the main breadwinner, but the heart.

As my kids continued to grow and become more independent, however, I found that I had more free time to pursue a career of sorts. I didn’t want to work outside the home, because I am a firm believer that a call on a mother’s life does not end when the kids reach Middle School. It is essential that a mom be available for her kids - even, no ESPECIALLY, when they are teens. So I found my niche and started working toward establishing myself in the field of writing, working from the computer in my parlor.

But I found that while I pursue this new career, I need to be careful that I don’t neglect my primary job - being a wife and mother. Many days I have found myself at the computer until late at night while my husband and kids were off taking care of themselves. It really was an easy trap to fall into. I no longer had a toddler to pull at my pant leg or try to climb up into my lap while I was working. And they were really good about it, so it was easy to go back to the computer after supper and work into the night. One day I realized that this was becoming a habit and they were living there lives around me, not with me.

Many times we forget that our teenagers need us to be available for them. Being constantly busy sends a message to our kids that other things are more important to us than they are. If we are too absorbed in our work, even while we are home, we will miss valuable opportunities for communication.

Children need their mom no matter what the age. Even if they seem all grown up on the outside, they still need their parents to show an interest in and be a part of their lives. During the teen years we still have a precious opportunity to mold and shape our children’s lives. If you are like me, a stay-at-home mom who has taken on a new career as a work-at-home mom, let’s not forget our true vision for being a WAHM - putting our families first.

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Patti Chadwick is the creator of Family Tymes. She is also the creator of History’s Women, an online magazine highlighting the extraordinary achievements of women throughout history.