Sometimes Discouragement Hits...And Then I Remember

I can remember when I made the decision to quit my last "real" job.

It was a terrible day for me, and I was shaking and crying, almost uncontrollably. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn't continue to work in that environment. At that time, I had no idea that working from home was even an option for me. Oh, I knew that people worked from home, and some of them were really good at it. However, I didn't know that it would be quite so easy for me to do.

Once I realized that I could write for businesses from the comfort of my own couch, I was excited to start. It wasn't long before I was making an income that was comparable to the amount of money I worked outside the home. Only I was able to stay home with my son and raise him myself instead of paying someone else to do it. It was wonderful.

It's been almost two years since I started working from home, and I'll admit that sometimes I do get a little bit discouraged. I've gone through a few different transitional periods as clients have moved on from getting my services, and as new ones have decided to give SEO a try for their businesses. During the times when all of my clients seem to be happy with their content, and the ones from the websites I work for don't seem to need any more, I frequently find myself thinking, "Maybe I should just go out and look for another 'real' job." I would have to say that this happens to me about once a month or so. I reason with myself by saying that my kids are all in school now, and when they're off from school, I have a daughter who's old enough to babysit the younger ones. Aside from having to make some transportation arrangements for them, I think to myself, "I really could get a job outside the home now, and we would all just adjust accordingly."

And then...moments like this morning happened.

We woke up my sons for school at 6:30. This was their first day back to school after the winter break, and to be honest, I was looking forward to having the house back for a day. My oldest son came out of his bedroom, and he could hardly breathe. He was wheezing terribly, and coughing unlike anything I had heard before. It did cross my mind that maybe he was pretending just a little bit to avoid going to school, but it soon became apparent that he wasn't.

I had to take him to the doctor this morning, while the other two went off to school. I found out that he has strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. We were given a prescription for an antibiotic, and the doctor told me to give him some cough medicine. He spent the day on the couch under his blanket watching his television shows. I sat here, working while he recuperated.

It occurred to me how flexible I can be in my job. I have truly been blessed with being able to work from home. I can come and go as I please, as long as I'm up to date on all of my deadlines. When my kids need me, I'm available to them. When there's an emergency, I don't have to call in to anyone, and risk my boss getting upset because I'm not at work. After all, like I said in my last blog post, my kids really are my number one job.

Do you work from home? Have you ever considered quitting your work from home job to take a job outside the home?