OpinionMom

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Thanks to a tool I discovered at Surburban Mum this blog got rated:

I’m really glad, because I want this to be a family blog. Click on the tool above to find out what your blog is rated.

Dana‘s post last Friday on Finding Purpose took me back to my own decision to leave the corporate world over five years ago.

I remember how I agonized over that decision! I had truly come to believe what I had heard almost all of my adult life — “that it takes two incomes to get by these days.”

At that time the only work-at-home opportunities that I was aware of were telecommuting and selling Avon (which is what my neighbor did when I was growing up). The company that I worked for at the time didn’t offer telecommuting and I KNEW that I didn’t want to do Avon-type sales (not that there’s anything wrong with sales, if you enjoy it).

However, I felt that I was losing touch with my kids and I really missed them during the day when I was gone. Often at night we were all cranky and tired and that “quality time” that I had hoped for just wasn’t there. Plus, the company I worked for was requiring more and more overtime.

A friend and I prayed and prayed about what I should do about my job. I lost sleep over the decision. I remember taking well over a month to make up my mind.

I was at a crossroads in my life. What finally helped me decide was this verse in Jeremiah. That verse really spoke to me. I felt that the path I was following, trying to juggle too much, was a new and unproven path.

I won’t say that it hasn’t been scary at times. There have been months when I wondered whether we would be able to pay all of our bills. I have to say, though, that the Lord provides. I have discovered ways to earn money with my writing skills that I never would have dreamed of when I was employed in the corporate world.

To close on a somewhat funny note (at least to me), I remember what my manager said to me when I left corporate America. “I’ll give you thirty days before you discover that you’re so bored that you don’t know what to do.” Well, the joke is on her because it’s been five years and I still haven’t run out of things to do.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

I found some fun blog listings of contests and giveaways for you:

• At 5minutes for mom there is an announcement for a July 4th Giveaway.
• At An Island Life there is a list of Contests and Giveaways.
• At I’m a Home Mom there is another list of giveaways.
• At Mom Blog there is also a list of contests and giveaways.

Have fun!
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

One of our favorite restaurants (that boasts of excellent home-cooking) is decorated with signs all over the walls. On the signs are famous sayings that “Mom” used to say.

The sayings include:

• “Brush your teeth”
• “If everyone else jumped over a cliff, would you jump too?”
• “Go to bed”
• “Pick up your toys”
• “Clean your room”
• “Share”
• “Say thank-you”
• “Because I told you so”

I remember these sayings (and many others) from my own childhood and you probably do too. Lately, however, I’ve heard them coming out of my own mouth! That’s why I pose the question, are we becoming are moms?

What about you? What are some of the saying you heard your mom saying when you were a child? Have you started using them?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

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.

This blog provides a place for moms to come together and express their opinions about life. I hope that you will find it to be a friendly place.