WAHM: Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Did you know that I am a WAHM? A Work At Home Mom. I must admit, being a closeted George Michael fan, when I found out that was the acronym, I secretly wished it was WHAM. That would be so much cooler!

In any case, I have googled and googled for sites that offer support to fellow WAHMers and could find nothing that related to my specific situation. Thus, besides providing many over thought thoughts here, I will provide any wisdom or tips I may discover on how to work from home and be a fantastic wife and mom. Many of the sites that I found were offering ideas on things that you could do from your house.

I happened to be blessed with a job already, so that didn't really help. And then there was lots of advice on what to do with toddlers when you are working--set up a desk area for themselves in your office or near your office. Make sure your kids understand that you are working, establish phone protocol (meaning explaining to them--DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE). I am thankful that I don't have to start thinking about those things now. God is so gracious in how slowly He moves us from one phase to the next.

So...for those of you that wonder what a WAHM does with an infant...it is a transition of learning how to work in shorter crunches. You become more effective because you are forced to prioritize what is important and what must be done immediately. Nursing the baby provides you with time to think about what has to be done next, or to mull over the work issue of the day and determine the best way to resolve it. And the best part is that when work goes to the crapper, and it always does--you have a nice little wake time with baby to make you smile and laugh and forget about whatever happened. My office manager and I are quite enjoying the distraction.

The big challenge for me is to not feel guilty when he has to spend some time in his bouncy seat as I pound out some emails. I have to remember that he is being entertained and stimulated by his animals....and the floor lamp that he seems to get a charge out of staring at. And the mirror. And whatever else comes his way. Like my office manager's face when she says hello to him enthusiastically.

And I need to remember to feel fortunate that I have the opportunity to work from home and to work with people that understand the importance of my new job...I'd write more, but I am already blowing my work time...and see--you still have the time to "waste time" like you did before by surfing the net and playing dumb games on Facebook.