MEMOIR OF A MARTYRED MOM

Consumer notice: No Inhibited or Uninhibited Use of Street Corner Pharmaceuticals was conducted in the production of this content or at any other time.

Recently, I began searching for jobs online after a 7 year hiatus from the grownup world of gainful employment. And I say the word “job” with a shudder. I left a blossoming CAREER on the fast track as a Manager in International Trade for a Fortune 500 Company to enter into the time-tested and noble profession of a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM). 7 years and 3 beautiful children later, the itch to immerse myself in an adult world of incessant stress and rat race mentality has reared its ugly head. And what to my wondering eyes did appear?? Well of course, none other than the GIANT realization that I am no longer for this world, or so it would seem. I have 3 kids, a husband that works himself to the bone, and a dried up in-home custom cake business. (thank you very much pandemic and looming recession). I started the cake business as a way to keep my creative juices flowing while being here for my kids 24/7. It was a miracle business that kept our finances afloat, allowed me to remain full-time at home with my children, and made many happy bellies in the wedding industry for a good long run! As the market began to very quickly dry up due to the shuttering of venues far and wide from crowd gathering covid restrictions, a large piece of me began to panic same as all service industry business owners did. I felt the express and overwhelming need to actively add alternate income instead of being the main cause of bleeding our now constricted finances (i.e. groceries to service my 24 hour café for my family, gas to fuel my “limousine”, and extra-curriculars tuition to keep my high energy little ones happy). I’m a fighter, but my spirits were feeling a bit heavy after hours and hours and weeks of researching job postings. I don’t seem to fit anything available…or maybe it is the other way around…they don’t seem to fit me. My education and niche skill set are sadly outdated and as a mature 30-something, strong-willed and proud woman I absolutely could not allow myself to apply to positions beneath my current and sharply honed skills of a…..mom?? I can now officially claim the status of a starving cake artist. (Yeah, let that oxymoron sink in.) What corporate skills does a stay home mom have to offer any small or medium size local business, let alone a multinational corporation? And that’s when it dawned on me: I’m not just a “mom”….I am a MOM!

This was the moment I picked myself up off the floor from the most pathetic (and comical I might admit) position of despair on the dirty kitchen floor while the kids gleefully danced about oblivious to their mom's self pity party. My daughters were busy playing "Office" and didn't miss a beat. They saw mom stop her usual constant busy-ness and quickly handed me a notepad and pencil and informed me I was the boss and I needed to give them office jobs. My son wasn't about to be left out of the fun as he draped his toddler superman cape over my shoulders and waited for his own office job assignment alongside his sisters. It was in this moment I saw myself through my children's eyes. I was always in charge, ran a tight ship, always protected them, and was their constant source of validation and guidance. To them and my former cake clients, I was Director of Education, the President of Logistics, VP of Marketing and Design, Image Consultant, Crisis Counselor, Field Medic, Restrauteur, Chanteuse, Head of Security and Facility Management, Manager of my own unique BRAND! I am CEO of my Empire!

Ladies (and stay home dads) don't sell yourselves short! Recognize your worth and skillsets acquired over the sink-or-swim period of sharpening your stay at home parenting capabilities. The global corporate world needs our raw grit and talent!