You’re so lucky.
Must be nice.
What do you do with all that free time?
Comments like these used to come my way whenever people heard that I work from home — which I’ve been doing since my kids were born over a decade ago. Why is it that everyone seems to think being home all day is synonymous with some sort of clandestine luxury? Hence the misguided notion that moms eat bonbons on the couch while watching soap operas with their feet up to pass the time. But if there’s one silver lining to this pandemic, it’s that no one will ever wonder again just what I — and all the other stay-at-home parents — do all day.
The veil has finally been lifted
I’ve been trying to explain forever that working from home isn’t glamorous
There’s no office door that closes behind you at the end of the day to usher you out of the work setting and into your home life. The line that delineates work from home simply doesn’t exist. All parents have recently learned this fact. I used to be jealous that my husband got to leave his job and just be “Dad” at home. But now with smartphones and telecommuting we’re always just a call, text, or urgent email away. We all now know what it’s like to be “on” nonstop.
This past year has leveled the playing field and we’ve recognized each other’s humanity more. We’ve seen fellow co-workers and even TV news anchors’ kids crashing Zoom calls and live telecasts, and had our work interrupted by barking dogs and doorbells. Maybe now we can appreciate the common thread that binds us as stay-at-home parents. We’re all just trying to do our best to manage an unseen life that has now been brought to light.
It should have never been so hidden in the first place
The one thing that will always remain from this year of working from home and homeschooling for many parents is the irreplaceable gift of time spent with their kids. A cherished commodity that stay-at-home parents have in spades.
Hopefully when things get back to “normal,” whatever that may be, the workplace will become a community of people who support and empathize with each other’s home life and child-rearing needs. With any luck, women won’t be the only ones having to sacrifice their careers to raise families, managers will be more sensitive to moms and dads needing to leave early for their kid’s school concert, and bosses won’t hesitate to let people work from home when their kids are sick.
I hope stay-at-home parents finally get some long overdue grace and respect, now that the world has had a chance to walk in our slippers and see they’re not as cozy as people might think.
