Work at Home Mom Life: Blog #2

Last week, I woke up on Wednesday morning and decided that I could not spend another day at home.

Working from home means that any spare moment is a potential moment to get work done, therefore I was spending almost all of my time working and not nearly enough time relaxing or playing with my son. So, as soon as he woke up we headed out to get brunch at Nicks on Broadway in Providence. I consciously decided to put my phone away until we got back home for his nap so that I would be able to give us my undivided attention. By some miracle, he ended up sleeping in the car after brunch which meant that we then headed to the beach! We were able to spend some time in the sand at the beach and hike a bit of the Cliff Walk too before heading home for another nap. After his nap, we headed to the studio because I needed to teach lessons that afternoon. After our day of adventures, he was wonderful while I taught.

I learned a few things that day. First, just because I can work around the clock does not mean that I should. The time that I spent away meant that I was much more focused on my son for that time, my work when I got back and more in tune with my own emotional well-being. Second, just because my son usually needs to nap at home now does not mean that I need to stay at home all day all week. Third, my life and to do list might end up more overwhelming on other days if I take time away but it is 100% worth taking the time away.

After last Wednesday, I have started working on trying to get out of the house or at least off my computer and phone more during the day. I have realized that I do have more time than I sometimes think that I do as long as I am fully present in the current task and moment. I am also even more motivated to find ways to give myself a few more hours of dedicated “work time” so that my time at home is not consumed by work.

Even through these struggles I am so grateful to have the type of job where I can take off for the beach for the day with my son because I woke up feeling overwhelmed. I remember the fear I had before my son’s birth about what my life would look like post baby. I wondered if I would be able to keep two businesses running and whether I would even want to continue working. I discovered that the only thing that changed was adding a new wonderful person to our existing life! I am the same person I was before becoming a mom and I think I have only become more thoughtful, efficient and creative in motherhood. Making music, sharing music and teaching music has given me so much joy and I wouldn’t change it for anything! Being a mom through it all has just made it sweeter even if that means navigating the inevitable adjustments!