…In a word–no.  I went through undergrad, grad, and law schools, accumulating a hefty amount of education and debt.  So, why would I now decide to be a pseudo-professional and work from home?  It’s quite simple.  I, as well as the vast majority of wives and mothers, put my family first.     This is not to say that those women who do not work or stay at home are not putting their family first.  I am sure they are doing so in another manner.  For instance, they may have decided to provide a second full-time income for their family in order to send their children to a prestigious private school, or to live in an affluent neighborhood, or they may be single moms who work outside the home to provide their family’s basic needs.  Maybe it’s not out of necessity at all; just that mom loves her job and that makes her a happier mother.

     For those of us who do decide to work at home, we have the challenges of keeping our children occupied with learning activities, exposing them to other children their age for social interaction (I particularly enjoy the playgroups on meetup.com), disciplining wayward behaviors, preparing and feeding them nutritious meals, and keeping them safe and secure from dangers (my daughter loves electrical cords, stairways, and sharp objects ).  This is in addition to household duties such as doing laundry (seemingly endless supply of dirty clothes), cleaning and sanitizing the house, researching recipes and cooking Husband’s favorite entrees, sewing buttons on dress shirts, and keeping up with administrative matters and bill-paying.  These duties are difficult enough to manage alone.  Throw in a few business deadlines, the inability to concentrate because “twinkle, twinkle little star” is playing in the background again, an attention-seeking whiny baby, and you have a perfect recipe for possible meltdown.

     So, why choose to put your family first in this manner?  Women work outside the home all the time and rear perfectly healthy, well-mannered children.  Well, I do it because the rewards are in surmountable.  I am with my favorite client all day.  Sure, I need time to myself, but the two hours she sleeps is enough time for me.  After all, I was there when she first said, “dada”, “mama”, “bye-bye” and “hey”.  I was there when she first crawled, tried green beans, giggled at my cookie monster imitation, and shared a toy with her playgroup buddy.  Because being with her is my full-time job, I am not too tired after a long day’s work outside the home, to spend time reading and singing to, dancing with, bathing, or feeding her anytime of the day.

     I may not be able to take the biggest or most lucrative cases, but I am in a pleasant mood when Husband gets home to spend quality time with him while we eat our home-cooked meal and enjoy recapping our day.  Most importantly, I know exactly what my daughter is watching on television, if anything, her nap routine, that she ate fresh fruits and vegetables, encountered limited exposure to germs, her diaper was changed immediately, and that she was not exposed to smoking or physical punishment.

     It is not easy, but it is worth it.  Trust me—I have to remind myself of these benefits quite often.  When I think about it, I would not want it any other way.  I can always go to work full-time outside the home when my child [ren] is [are] school-age.  Every family has to decide what’s best for them.

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