I was in a car accident not too long ago and had to make a late evening phone call to the insurance company to report the crash. The call started out as would be expected. The customer service representative was kind and professional and was, I’m sure, doing exactly what was expected of her position.
Then, as she was speaking, the phone cut out mid-sentence. Hello? Are you still there? I wondered as I waited, deciding if I was going to hang up and call back. Suddenly she came back and continued where she left off as if nothing had happened. Then, again, the phone went suddenly silent for a few seconds, and again she came back and picked up without missing a beat. She started sounding flustered as she reviewed with me the information I had just given to her. A child screamed in the background and the phone went silent again. When she returned it was with the sounds of a whimpering child in the background as she desperately tried to complete our call. I could hear the horror in her shaky voice as we finished up and ended the call.
She was obviously a work at home mom and my heart felt heavy for her. I imagined she was probably afraid of losing her job at that moment. I wanted to give her some words of reassurance, but at the same time knew she just needed to finish with our business so she could tend to whatever chaos what happening in her home at that moment. Who knows what happened to lead to the interruption of her work time? We all know that things can quickly go from superbly planned and under control to complete shambles in a matter of minutes. Maybe her babysitter called in sick that evening and she was relying on an older sibling to watch the little one. Maybe her partner was cooking dinner and lost track of the little one. Maybe she had no one to care for her child while she worked and just had to grit her teeth and cross her fingers every time she signed on to her work portal.
That mother was in an impossible situation at that moment. Working from home can be HARD when you have kids. Our professional world and our motherhood world often do not mesh. But yet, we are part of both of those worlds. We do the work we do because we love it, or maybe because we just need the job. We have children who have lots and lots and lots of needs. Endless, it seems. Those moments when our two very important worlds collide can cause some major crash and burn stress.
Oh mama, I’ve been there. So many times. I have plenty of my own humiliating (and sometimes humorous after the fact) stories of tiny, and not so tiny, invaders barging in on me when I’ve been teaching live webinars or in a phone meeting with a new potential client. I’ve had way too many beautifully creative work flows suddenly smashed to pieces by kids fighting or just coming in to ask the hundred and fifty third question of the hour.
Despite the “Mom is working, DO NOT DISTURB” sign posted on my door….they DO disturb!
I’ve been a work at home mom for the majority of my mothering years. My conclusion so far is that working from home is a wonderful mess. I wouldn’t change it for the world! But oh, how I fantasize about going to a nice, clean office where I can work without the laundry nagging me or that organizing project popping into my head again or a kid sauntering in my “office” (aka bedroom) casually wanting to debate the division of chores while I’m trying to beat my own self-imposed deadline.
Yes, working at home when you are a mom is a major feat in juggling mastery. But you know what? It also brings so many rewards and benefits. I mean, you really can’t beat living in leggings every day of your life, right? Gotta get on a Zoom conference? Throw on a nice top and brush your hair and you’re all set. LOL
I’m so glad you’ve stopped by. I hope I can provide you with some encouragement when you feel like you are in the trenches. I definitely can share with you lots of things that have helped me be productive and manage the work at home mom life chaos over the years. And maybe we can share some laughs, because if we don’t laugh at ourselves we will definitely crack.
