As a mom who works from home, my life is a triangle.
Kids. Work. House.
Refill two bowls of Captain Crunch.
Click through emails.
Sweep up the mud the dogs just tracked across the floor.
Kids. Work. House.
Cuddle wiggly bodies as we read Charlie the Ranch Dog.
Jump in on a conference call.
Fold one load of laundry and throw another into the washer.
Kids. Work. House.
It’s the steady beat of my days. I bounce from place to place, never stopping but never really feeling like I accomplish much of anything. As soon as I start picking up momentum on this, that, or the other, something else demands my attention.
Mommmm, can I have a snack?
Most days, I’m spread thin. Most days, I feel like I’m chasing a golden standard that is just out of my reach.
I long to be a present, loving, patient mom. The kind who makes her children feel valued and understood; who will always make time to cuddle or play tic-tac-toe. I want to show them that in all of the chaos of life, they are forever my priority.
I strive to be an employee who can be counted on; a hard-worker whose dedication and passion are never questioned. I don’t just want to cross items off a list, I want to do them well.
I desperately want to live in a tidy, uncluttered space where the laundry is put away and there aren’t pools of sticky apple juice on the floor. Because when my home is at peace so are my heart and mind.
Kids. Work. House.
This triangle drags me under and sometimes I’m convinced I’ll never resurface.
But I always do.
Because when you’re a mom who works from home, there’s another kind of triangle to your days, too.
Love. Presence. Fulfillment.
One more butterfly kiss from a sleepy toddler.
Another milestone you’re lucky enough to be there for.
The certainty that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
This life—this reheating coffee and changing diapers and meeting deadlines and wrestling on the floor and wiping down counters and sneaking a quick shower and restarting the dryer and earning a paycheck—life . . . Oh, it is so exhausting.
And so sweet.
Given the chance, I’d choose it over and over again. Because even though it threatens to break me, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
How lucky am I to spend my days in the place my heart knows best with the ones my soul loves most? To fall asleep each night with a weary body but a grateful spirit?
Loved. Present. Fulfilled.
Because when you’re a mom who works from home, life is a sometimes-messy but always-blessed triangle.
by Chelsi Cacciatore 
by Krystal Sieben 
by Joy McLaughlin 
by JD Arbuckle 
by Valerie Sawicki-Bellomo 
