Being a Work At Home Mum

I often get asked whether I will return to my former profession which was teaching.  The answer is I don’t know.  I loved teaching but it is one of those professions where you can’t leave your work in the office.  Being a single mum, I want to make sure that I separate my work life from my home life.  I don’t want to be marking books whilst Toddler is running amok trying to get my attention. 

Ok, I guess that sounds rather hypocritical as that is indeed what I am doing now – juggling business and a toddler.  I think that the difference is that being my own boss, I can set my own deadlines and break up my working day to see to my toddler’s needs.  If Toddler is poorly or having a bad day, I can get the most important tasks for that day done, then close the laptop and spend quality time with him.  In a teaching job, I wouldn’t have that option.  Maybe, one day, when Toddler is at school himself and not needing me so much, I would return to the world of teaching but for now, here is my list of why I love being a work at home mum:

-          I get to choose my hours to fit around my family

-          My son is seeing business in action – promoting a positive ethos to working

-          I love the challenge – learning new things every day

-          I get to watch my son grow up and be part of every developmental step

-          I am able to be there for my son when he is poorly or needs me

-          I am my own boss.  My success or failure lies purely in my hands.

Of course, being a work at home mum has it’s disadvantages too.  The most common one being that I get stuck into something that needs my undivided attention, and all of a sudden, so does Toddler.  The other big downside is that inevitably, the large proportion of my workload tends to be done when Toddler is in bed.  I don’t think I have managed to get to bed earlier than 1am any night this week but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Today was a great reminder for me as to why I love my job.  It was a beautiful sunny day so after picking Toddler up from his nursery session, we headed to the beach for the afternoon to make the most of the weather.