Note: This post originally appeared when I was a guest blogger for Angela’s WAHM blog. Angela has consolidated her blogs and she now blogs at Domestic Divapalooza. I’m recycling this post for your enjoyment. Recycling is a good thing, right?
A few years ago I was sitting at a lunch table with four other moms. All of us were chaperoning a school activity. I don’t know how it came up, but suddenly we were talking about friendships. One thing that we all agreed on was how hard it is to make and keep a close friendship.
Before I go any further, I should probably define what I mean by friendship. Today we tend to use that term loosely to apply to colleagues, acquaintances, and basically anybody that we are the slightest bit familiar with. I remember overhearing my child’s preschool teacher urging her to refer to all of her classmates as her friends. I didn’t say anything, but I thought to myself, maybe she doesn’t consider some of them to be her friends.
In this post, I’m not talking about the type of friendship that includes nearly every acquaintance that you have ever met. I’m talking about the type of friend that you can share your thoughts and worries with, the type of friend who really takes the time to understand and listen, the type of friend that you can call in the middle of the night if you have an emergency, the type of friend that you wouldn’t hesitate to leave your kids with.
Work-at-home parents do face extra obstacles when it comes to building friendships. Their schedules may be nearly as tight as a parent who works in a traditional setting, but unlike a traditional office worker, work-at-home parents usually have little or no face-to-face interaction with other adults. One of few things that I miss about the corporate world is the daily contact that I had with other workers.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Work-at-home parents can proactively choose to make friendship a part of their life. Here are some helpful resources:
- Scott Davis, posting at Wendy Piersall’s eMoms at Home blog lists ten steps that home workers can take to overcome loneliness.
- Janice Ferrante, posting at also has .
In closing, I should say that I am grateful that I do have several very close friends that I make time to see often. Making time for friendship is an important priority in this work-at-home mom’s life, and it can be a priority in your life too.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.
1 response so far ↓
1 BridgetW // Oct 25, 2009 at 5:49 am
I agree with this totally. I live in Southern CA, east of LA and have been a SAHM/WAHM for almost 10 years. I have many acquaintances, but no “close” girlfriends. My husband and I also do not have family nearby, so that makes the situation even tougher. I’m very involved in my church and fitness activities as well as acitivites with my daughter, but don’t run across many mid-age women who work from home in my area. The few that I do meet are not interested in making new friendships as they already have a friendship network and family around them. It has definitely been a lonely road. Any additional suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for the post!