What I Love and Hate about being a WAHM
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Kathrina Jane Tiangco
So many women today are debating about the working mother versus the stay-at-home mom. Yet, with the growth of the online industry, there must be thousands of us mothers who are working at home. It's like being torn between two loves -- you're at home, but you have a full-time job. As a career person, who would want to be jobless? The empowerment of women has given us the confidence to become strong contributors to the corporate world. There are many notable women in the society, such as The Huffington Post editor-in-chief and president, Arianna Huffington. However, there are also women who have dedicated their lives to homemaking. This is a meaningful profession which makes our society morally adequate. Mothers who choose to raise their children singlehandedly should not be demoralized for their choices. Not everyone has access to a nanny or babysitter, and it is the mother who cares for her children best, after all. What I noticed is that WAHMs, or work-at-home mothers, are often excluded from the discussion. We are a growing population and our presence in the online world is strengthening. A lot of people would probably think that it's an amazing opportunity to be able to work in the comfort of your home. Yes, as a WAHM, there's no doubt that it's a privilege to be forever grateful for. I could not imagine being away from home, working in an office, while my two daughters are at home with a nanny. The time I have spent with my children while they are young are the most precious memories that I will carry to my grave. But that doesn't mean my life is perfect. That doesn't mean that I have all the time in the world to do whatever pleases me. Even as a WAHM, you can't be a perfect mother. There will always be something that isn't working as perfectly as society envisions it to be. If you're a stay-at-home mom, you're seen as a slacker who doesn't contribute to the corporate world. If you're a working mom, you're seen as a bad parent who hands over her responsibilities to a nanny or babysitter. In this argument, the WAHM may be victorious, but I personally think there isn't much difference. To begin with, here are the wonderful things that I love about being a WAHM. 1. I am hands-on in raising my children From the moment they were born until today, I have personally taken care of my children, along with my husband. We take our turns in bathing the kids, feeding them, playing with them, and doing things parents are supposed to do. We teach them the values we would like to instill in them and also guide them to become well-behaved and friendly. 2. I see every little milestone that my children achieve I saw the first time my eldest daughter attempted to turn over from back to tummy, and I saw that very same milestone with my second daughter. I can recall exactly when each of them started to turn over on both sides, babbled, ate solid food, and did other tricks which made mothers squeal in glee. 3. I don't have to commute to work or dress up as an office worker Imagine how much I save from commuting because I work at home. I don't have to stress myself with heavy traffic or battle with the rush hour. I also don't need to prep myself for work. Even in my jammies, I can do my job. No need to wear make-up or mix and match clothes! 4. I can control my work hours A 40-hour work week is all a full-time job requires of me, and that's easy to achieve when working at home. I can easily log in during the wee hours of dawn, while the kids are sleeping. When I need to cook lunch, I log off, then resume after I've eaten. Sometimes, I can still take a quick nap before going back to work. As long as I can meet the required working hours and finish my tasks on time, it doesn't matter when I work. These privileges are awesome, I can attest to that. But that doesn't mean my life at home is perfect. There's a balance of good and bad in most things, and the same goes for working at home. Here are the things that I really dislike about being a WAHM. 1. There's no social life. How can you have a social life if you're always in your house, in front of your computer? I barely have any friends because I don't have officemates. My old friends are hard to find because they have jobs and families of their own. My only companion is my husband and when we're out, we always have our kids with us.
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