I don't know how the WAHMs do it

Last week I pretended to be a work-at-home-mom (WAHM). Masquerading as a graphic designer, I created and tweaked (and tweaked and tweaked) a cover for the book my brother is publishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; while my creative interests have ranged all over the map throughout my life (writing, photography, random crafts, and now design), I've always felt very fulfilled when creating. It makes me feel whole.

Problem is, while I'm off feeling whole, my children are running wild with the knowledge that mom's attention is diverted. We had all manner of ... incidents, including the time my toddler found and squirted white board cleaner in her eye while no one was looking. I took a break to flush her eye over the bathroom sink (she loved that!) while my sabbatical-taking sister held her down.

I don't know that I could have done it without the help of my sister, or at least not during waking hours. And with the baby's still somewhat erratic sleep schedule, I wouldn't have wanted to try in the dark of night -- I value the little sleep I get far too much. (On the other hand, I often work best in the wee hours, lol, so maybe I would have anyway and just skipped sleep altogether!)

Anyway. It was lots of fun, and I'd offer to do it again in a heartbeat. But it's given me a whole new appreciation for women who actually make a living at home while simultaneously making life worth living for their children. I have a looooong way to go before I learn to multi-task that effectively.


~RCH~