As I left my corporate career behind to start a home-based biz, I envisioned a blissful life of mommy-time with my two daughters, who were three and five years old when I started my mom biz. The reality is, running a biz from home with two children in tow is easier said than done. Sneaking biz calls in between Barbies, nap time and loads of laundry was the equivalent of running a marathon on a gerbil wheel. Pretty exhausting. Gratitude took on new meaning as I found myself being thankful for small pleasures.
My Top 7 Work-At-Home-Mom Gratitude List:
1. A husband that can unstack a dishwasher. While dishwashers are very convenient, opening a clean dishwasher that needs to be unstacked is the equivalent of discovering your dryer is full of clothes when you have a handful of wet laundry piled high in your arms. Will the invention gods (calling Dyson vacuum guy) please invent a self-emptying dishwasher and dryer? To this day, I still pretend I didn’t notice the dishwasher was clean and close it back up. I’m super grateful my husband has figured out that dishwasher unstacking is his job.
2. Crock-Pot. The crock-pot, aka slow cooker, is a genius meal prep time saver that makes me look like I know how to cook. Thank you for feeding my family, Crock-Pot. And, news flash: Have you tried the Tupperware Micro Pro Grill? I think it was invented for work-at-home-moms.
3. Children that work for free. I’m blessed that my children never asked to be paid for all the work I delegated to them over the years. Thanks, kids!
4. Alone time. Is there anything better than locking the bathroom door to sneak in a bubble bath? I think not. Ok, I lied. Bubble bath + wine would make me extra grateful.
5. Dress up days. Most of my work-at-home days were (and still are) spent in leggings or yoga pants with my hair in a ponytail, sans makeup. I’m thankful for my purple Ray-Bans (a gift from my daughters, who must have known I needed them) and lipgloss, which can turn my drab mom look into “cool chic mom” in a flash. Working at home gave me a new appreciation for the times I got to dress (and look) like a biz lady.
6. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. This magical can of goodness was all I needed to create an easy-to-prepare meal for my family that wasn’t cooked in a Crock-Pot. Hellooo comfort food! Thank you, Campbell’s Soup. In case you haven’t guessed yet, cooking is not one of my superpowers.
7. Staples delivery. I quickly discovered my children did not consider running biz errands playtime. Thanks to Staples (and now Amazon) for delivering printer ink, paper, envelopes, stickers and other biz necessities. You rock!
What are you grateful for? Tell us in the comments below 🙂
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