The Stay at Home Mother

I just returned from speaking to a group of new moms on maternity leave with MamaSpeak, which is a fantastic program for new moms. They were a wonderful group of moms, with lots of questions about what they will do when their maternity leave is over (isn't that a dilemma that most of us face?)

One of the moms asked me about how I catagorize myself as a stay at home mom if I am a mom with a home-based business? And one, who is able to make money outside of the home - in her view - I am a working mom......

She raised a very interesting topic. So let's open this issue to all my readers and to any mom with an opinion on this topic (yes, you know you have one!) What defines being a "stay at home mom"? What defines being a "work at home mom" or a "working mom" for that matter? Or should we be defining it at all?

I think the term "stay at home mom" is evolving. I think that any way you can find a way to place the priority on your children and be there in there lives each day - as opposed to not being there - is a stay at home mom. I personally don't do any business during my days, but rather, do all my writing, and consulting for moms during the evening when my children are in bed. (Although to be fair - today's talk was during the afternoon). And I had my mom watch the children for two hours.

But I have never lost sight of why I wanted to be a stay at home mom in the first place. I have set boundaries - made sacrifices - in order to place the priority on my children. So, I don't think about putting a "set definition" on it - but rather, thinking outside of the box with these definitions and how we can reach our intended goal (being at home with our children) and what that could look like for each mom out there.

I am all about supporting moms with whatever path they choose - but I also want to let them know that there are choices and alternatives, than just returning to the workforce full time. There isn't anything in life that you can't do, if you put your mind to it. Moms can do anything - it's just comes down to figuring out exactly what that is - and then going for it.

So whether you want to catagorize me as a stay at home mom, a work at home mom.... I'm still a mom who has put the priority on her children - ...and at the end of the day - that's what truly counts.