When Working at Home is Not Working for Your Family

I'll never forget the day that I finally decided to work from home. I held various positions in the social services industry prior to the birth of my first child. I taught parenting classes, I worked with at-risk youth and juvenile delinquent teens and I investigated child abuse and neglect reports. In the eight years I worked in the field, I'd convinced myself that many of the social problems I'd been hired to fix were partially the result of moms that were too busy working (outside the home) to properly care for their children.

I worked in an office that was comprised of about 95% women. Most of them were young mothers. I threw the first grenade in my own "mommy war"when I proudly announced my intention to quit my job and work from home.

As I packed up my desk and said my "good-byes", I was convinced that my co-workers were insanely jealous. Why wouldn't they be? Nearly one-half of their paychecks were spent on someone else caring for their children. They would only be able to see their kids a few hours each day and on the weekends. They had to ask for permission to go to soccer games, school plays and lunch dates with their kids. I felt so sorry for their poor children who were probably languishing in daycare centers.

I was a twenty-nine year old, know-it-all, brand new mother of a baby girl. I had a booming direct sales business that I launched during my maternity leave. I had it all and I was not afraid to puff out my chest and discuss the horrors of child-care centers with anyone who would listen to me. I was doing the right thing. I was sacrificing financially for my new baby but she was worth it. Those other mothers probably just wanted new cars, nice clothes, a great career or a break from their kids once in awhile (heaven forbid). All I needed was a healthy baby and a few hundred dollars per month to pay the bills. I firmly believed I had everything that I needed (at least for a little while).