The Hardest Part of Finding a Work/Life Balance

I struggled with the decision of how to balance work and family life after I became a mother. I wanted my family to have the advantages that came with a second income. I also wanted to spend every moment with my little bundle of joy. I think being open to change until one finds a comfortable balance is really important.

I have made a personal study over the course of the last few years of how to create an income while doing what feels right to me as a mother. I first decided I wanted to work from home doing upholstery work. It was a problem. The problem was it was very dirty work tearing old furniture and car seats apart, and there are a lot of sharp, rusty metal pieces involved with that kind of work. It was not so bad when my little one could be in playpen smiling at me while I worked. It got harder as the baby's mobility increased.

I decided to put that dream off for a few years and go back to college. I wanted to learn how to properly manage and market a business plus how to keep the books the right way. That way I could still have my dream of customizing street rod interiors and meeting my personal goals as a mother. I thought by the time I was ready to jump into the business my children would be more independent and they would be able to understand to stay away from the sharp items.

I discovered in college that I love writing. Sometimes when I was between classes I wrote papers on topics that interested me just for the fun of writing them. Now I write during every spare moment I get. If I have an article due - sometimes I offer a cartoon break so I can write for a short time. (I don't offer a lot of TV time so it almost always gets a happy response.) I write when the rest of the family is sleeping at night. Sometimes I get up early so I can write. It doesn't seem like a chore because I love it.

I still tell people who ask what I do that I am a full-time mother. That's my real job paycheck or not. Being adaptable and recognizing what I felt I was supposed to be doing was the key to finding a work/life balance for me.