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SAHM With a Plan
By Cheryl Gochnauer
Who says only big companies
should have a business plan?
Women who are thinking about moving from the
workplace to the homefront should lay their groundwork just as
carefully as a high-powered executive. After all, you and your husband
make up the board of directors in an extremely important private
corporation -- your family.
What can you do to ease your transition and prepare you for the very
best
stay-at-home mom experience?
First, be clear about why you want to come home. What specifically are
you trying to accomplish -- more family time? a less stressful
lifestyle? more hands-on spiritual training of your children?
What's your role in this new set up? Talk through
issues with your husband
and decide now how chores and other responsibilities will be divided.
Does
your coming home mean your husband will never pick up a dishtowel
again?
What specific traits are you looking to cultivate in your children?
How
will Mom being home help develop those traits?
How will our budget be affected? Where do we need to cut? Decide which
items are non-negotiable. In our family, it was cable TV. We tried
living
without it for six months, but missed Nickelodeon and the Family
Channel too
much. We decided to cut somewhere else.
How long will we practice living on one income before Mom turns in her
resignation? If she thinks she might want to return to her position
later,
what does she need to do to keep her foot in the door? If she's
considering
trying a new career track once she returns to work, how should she
prepare
while she's at home? Will she take college courses or join an
organization
that will train her for that future job outside the home?
Is Dad able and willing to work overtime, if necessary? How long will
Mom
stay home? Have a general timeframe in mind, but don't fix a date in
stone.
You never know where life will lead you.
Five years ago this week, I took my final walk through the employee
parking
lot. Back then, I was sure I'd be back when Carrie, my youngest,
started
school. I had no idea that an entirely different career would emerge
during
my time off with the kids. Who knew I'd become a writer, speaking to
parenting groups and counseling individuals about the joys of being a
stay-at-home mom!
Likewise, you may have hidden talents or dormant dreams that will
emerge
once you relax into the less frenzied life of an at-home parent.
Granted,
it's not always quiet, but it's sure better than trying to hold down
two
full time jobs at once. And you'll have a much easier time making the
transition if you're proactive and develop your family's personal
business
plan before you make the jump to home.
(Cheryl's new book, "So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom,"
features a
chapter called "Setting Up Your Family Business Plan." Look
for it at your
favorite bookstore, and visit her website at www.homebodies.org,
where you
can share your insights with other parents on the Homebodies message
board.
Copyright 1999 Cheryl Gochnauer.)
Related Articles:
Dealing
with Isolation
It's a Lonely World in the House!
Where's
The Respect With This Job?
Ever hear, "Why
are you wasting your education?"
Feminism
and the Fight For Women's Rights: Are Our Children Suffering in the
Process?
Are we really putting our children first?
Relic
A Relic. A throwback. A threat to feminism. What am I? A
stay-at-home mom.
HOME ALONE .... Being A SAHM
Guilt at being bored, guilt at needing help, guilt at wanting time
away. I noticed that the majority of these moms were first time moms,
coping with learning and exhaustion and reality.
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