There is a new type of stay-at-home mom these days: We don’t stay at home at all. We are “working” just as hard as any mom with a nine-to-five (or -six, or -seven) job. We’re up at six in the morning, making breakfast, packing healthy lunches and then driving our children to school. In the afternoon, we’re studying for additional degrees, planning balanced meals and bringing in extra income as writers, realtors, travel agents, yoga teachers or entrepreneurs. Then we’re picking up our children from school.
Most stay-at-home-moms produce interesting work outside of what they do for their children and families, but it’s often not recognized. For this new version of the stay-at-home mom, the question “How do you balance work and family?” is an easy one to answer: Balance is part of every moment of our day.
Our kids come with us to work and play beside us; they are our work, and we know when to put our other work down, because ultimately they’re what it’s all for, anyway. I was raised by a “working mother” who taught me that I could be and do anything I wanted when I was a grown woman—and what I wanted was everything: a child, a career, friends and a great relationship with my husband.
We are sometimes told that that’s asking for too much, and that one (or more) of those things must be sacrificed. Why? I might not be able to have sex with my husband at the same time I’m writing my book, or playing Clue with my child while I’m sleeping, but why would I want to? I do believe it’s possible to have it all. The secret is to simply carve out the life you choose—alongside supportive people.
“Balance is part of every moment of our day.”
