AnchorMommy

A day in the life of a WAHM

May 9, 2011 by Shannon

I’m lucky. I’m able to work from home and have plenty of time for my kids. But let’s be honest here – it is not easy. There are a number of challenges one must deal with when combining work with motherhood.

1. Gotta keep the kids happy. For important phone calls, it’s imperative to keep the kids occupied. You have to make sure they’re fed, rested, and supplied with lots of entertaining toys and/or TV. Yeah, I’m not proud of the fact that I use the electronic babysitter, but hey. A WAHM’s gotta do what a WAHM’s gotta do.
2. Pray that the people you work with are also parents. I’ve been on conference calls and had to hang up suddenly after baby Ella found a small fragment from a straw basket on the floor and decided to eat it. I’ve also had to cut a phone interview short after Ella’s squalling became so loud, neither myself or the woman I was interviewing could hear ourselves speak. And I tell you what – in both cases, the other people involved were super understanding because they’ve been there. Thank goodness.
3. Watercooler breaks? Ha. One of the downsides of working at home is the isolation. Have a gripe? Need a break? The kids certainly don’t care. Here are your options: email. You can email a colleague, but you can’t just waltz over to his/her desk. There’s also social media like Facebook or Twitter. It’s often a relief to tweet a minor gripe and get it off your chest, but there’s no face-to-face commiserating with a real, live co-worker.
4. However, you do get kitchen breaks. It may not be good for my waistline, but it is convenient to have a whole kitchen’s worth of food to peruse when I get the munchies. Definitely a bonus.
5. Be prepared to call in backup. Here’s another instance where I’m super lucky and I know it: I have grandparents nearby to call on when I need help. Furthermore, two of those grandparents are retired and can help me out at nearly any time of the day I need babysitting. Let there be no doubt about this – I would NOT be able to do what I do without their support and assistance. Period.
6. Going out into the “Real World?” Do a double take. It’s far too easy for me to fall into Mommy Mode and not even think about it. You know what I mean – you see the baby drooling a little milky spit-up out the side of her mouth, so you swipe it with a finger and wipe it on your pants. No big deal if you’re running to the grocery store. But if I have to go do a face-to-face interview for a story I’m writing? I have to be extra sure that I don’t have spit-up in my hair or bananas smeared on my shirt. A second check in the mirror just before stepping out the door can save me from a lot of embarrassment.

So this is just the WAHM stuff I have to deal with. I’m about to start my second fill-in stint at Fox 12 News soon, and that’ll add a whole new dimension of busyness to our lives. But at the same time, I’m excited! I’ve missed the ‘ol Fox 12 newsroom.

I just hope I’ll remember to check for spit-up and mashed bananas before I go on air.