I really like to keep things real. So although I have a lot of positive things to say about working from home, I have to confess there are some definite cons to it.
I had just finished filling in only half of the calendar for August and I couldn’t believe it. How did this happen? When at one time I would see lots of white space, I was now seeing nothing but black. It was one thing after another written in…football, driver’s education, orthodontic appointments, hair appointments and meetings. Ugh, the curse of the calendar.
I have always been a stay-at-home mom. Even when I did go back to work it was part-time and it was always at a school. That meant I was off during my children’s long breaks, including summer vacation.
I somehow figured that when they got older I could begin to pursue my writing career. I anticipated that I would have all this extra time. Instead I was finding that the older my children got, the busier I actually became. Now my writing career had finally taken off but I was finding it difficult to balance it all.
Working from home is definitely a blessing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, I really wouldn’t. However it is much more challenging that I thought it would be. Not only am I dealing with the curse of the calendar that keeps filling up but there has been ongoing noise throughout the day that often interrupts my thoughts.
It is constantly friends coming and going, doors slamming, telephone ringing and the word “Mom!” echoing throughout the house.
I have always had it all together. I have been able to run a household, take care of my children and for a stint, I even homeschooled. Suddenly I was looking at my calendar, thinking about my workload and I wanted to cry. How was this ever going to work? How would I manage? I didn’t feel like I had things together and it was a very unsettling feeling for me.
I guess it comes down to the fact that I have no choice but to make it work. While many people think I have it easy working from home, they really don’t understand the challenges I have to overcome.
The reality is that working from home has its downsides too. In fact last night a bunch of friends from my husband’s softball team went out for dinner to celebrate a winning game.
My friends were talking about their co-workers and how nice it was to have someone to share things with and how funny another co-worker was. I don’t have any co-workers. It’s just me. And while that does have its advantages, there is also the downside that I don’t have another adult to talk to.
So no, I wouldn’t change my working status for anything. However the reality is that there are downsides to working from home, including that cursed calendar. I know that others who work from home can relate. Hmmm….maybe I should start an online support group for us.
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