When I became a mom, I discovered not only how my husband’s face can translate itself into being an incredibly cute little girl, but that I also developed a particularly interesting superpower: a bionic sense of smell.
It emerged soon after conceiving this little genetic make-up miracle and ever since I’ve been driving everyone crazy with – can you smell that?
And these days, after much fretting about the epic snow dumps we’ve been experiencing this winter, the first of the spring rains are washing away the Game of Thrones- flavored Winter’s Coming Doom away.
And with that comes my favourite part of the year – the releasing of the smell of new beginnings.
And with that release, I’m reminded in the most powerful way – through the magical schnoz – of this work at home mama path I’ve taken.
I get to work today from a sweet little office that’s getting cozier by the minute by new free or close to free furniture acquirement, my beloved puppy by my feet, diffuser pumping out nasal and spiritual support while getting to call the best litte town on earth (in my humble opinion) our home.
It’s like my nose has been a gift from the WAHM Gods and Goddesses. Even though my dentist recently informed me my nose has been placed on my face a little off centre – I don’t care. Wabi-sabi, wabi-schnoze-y.
The smells of the season have rendered me a bit of a nostalgic sap, thinking back to all the steps that have taken me from a single, corporate career ladder-climbing vixen to a twice knocked-up, complex work-from-home-yet-fully-hands-on-make-from-scratch farmer wannabe – have I mentioned complicated? – creature.
And the binding thread to this has been a pinch of rebellion tendencies.
Even though looking back I see a trend of me generally being a people pleaser (I’m working on that), I’m at the core a fine combination of hedonist and optimist. A hoptimist if you will.
And what this personality trait encompasses is a constant pushing on the status quo and asking, to the point of annoyance, a couple of key questions:
Why? And why not?
It started with our wedding plans. Our friend married us. It was a weekend long rave party. The blushing bride, moi, sported three different (yet simple) wedding dresses. (Luckily, my mom makes these numbers for a living.)
And on came the shudders from our two Catholic families. Why aren’t you getting married in a church? Why don’t you have bridesmaids? Where’s the wedding cake? My mom, in the end, snuck in the latter in at the end. Kind of grateful for that.
My husband-to-be and I simply answered, why not?
A similar scenario cropped up with our plans to homebirth. The horror stories blew in. The well-meaning concerns. But my hospital birth loving (yet home-birthed) mama didn’t raise no willy-nilly fool. We did the research and made an informed decision. In the end we were blessed by two lovely home births.
Then the homeschooling and the move to the boonies from the city, and the homesteading plans. And our Waldorf leanings that inspired me to minimize our kids’ material possessions and media exposure. My mom thought I was just trying to be difficult.
But the smells have been reminding me lately that even though we go against the grain at times, what we’re doing is not trying to be difficult but instead heeding a sometimes sacred call. That little voice that whispers within us. (Mine kind of sounds like Selma, Marg’s sister from The Simpson in case you wanted to know.)
The least we can do, if life circumstances allow, is to explore, research and ask the questions – why or why not?
As mentioned, my mom has said a few times, “Sometimes I feel you do things differently just for the sake of being different.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, but because I love compliments so much (both the taking and the giving) I took it as that.
Of course, it’s not true. I don’t do things for the sake of being different. I do things for the sake of following my calling, intuition, the educated decision after researching the options and moving in the direction of what makes sense for my and my family’s unique situation, dreams and risk factors.
I feel my little acts of going against the status quo have prepared me for the reactions I get when I explain what it is I do for work. It’s more accepted than when I first wrote the first version of this blog post three years ago, but in the beginning I got a few raised eyebrows.
But now I embrace the looks of those sky high brows and have so much fun explaining not only what I do but why I do it. I love my work so much, I could just about burst. And that’s what I’m thankful for, these rebel ways in these nose-full of delights moments.
I started working from home from the beginning of my mothering career and the online component of it was the land of weirdo-ness back in the prehistoric internet days of 2007. Lucky for us Mama Rebels, since then coaching and the internet culture have been embraced by the mainstream.
It’s very much akin to how yoga is a little more well-known today since that time in Maui when I was practicing on the beach. Two guys came up to me and asked what the what in carnation I was doing.
That was only sixteen years ago, when yoga was pretty underground compared to how mainstream it is now. Same things happening to the coaching and mentoring world and the ability to work from home in almost any field. I, and many others before
I, and many others before me, have helped pave the weirdo way for you. You’re welcome.
Are you kind of relating to my rebel ways? Here are ten signs you might be a prime candidate for being a Work-at-Home Mama Rebel too:
1. You feel like life is picking up on speed and you’re ready to lay on the brakes a bit.
My mom (she has a lot to say on the subject of me) also says I was born in the wrong century. As much as I was a downtown scenester in my twenties, I’ve always been nostalgic for simpler times. As a kid, I wanted so bad to ride a horse to school. I wanted to dress up my daughter in Little House in the Prairie gear forever (she’s too squirmy and, well, big now, but lucky me she was into it for quite a while). And I just got my first cell phone ever this fall by the way.
Working from home, you get to set the pace of your work times, work style and communicate your value of slowing down and savouring in all that comes into your world. It’s powerful stuff and any opportunity to slow down these speedy time is pretty precious indeed.
2. You want to model to your kids (especially your daughter) that you can craft a life to any shape you want it to be.
Starting up an online business is perfect for creative work making. Almost any problem you can solve for someone can be turned into an online service or offering. And there are people out there just waiting to receive your gifts.
3. You prioritize self-care.
Or at least you’re aware you need to gain traction in this crucial arena in order to sustain your work at home mama gig. Luckily, schedule flexibility comes with this terrain and it’s pretty easy to squeeze it in throughout the day. Especially if you have an incredibly cute puppy that reminds you to get outside for quick walks throughout the day!
4. If your kid’s sick you’re not comfortable sending them off to school or daycare.
Three years ago, when this was first written, I really got to put my nose to the bliss stone with my coaching practice since both kiddos were in school full-time at the same time for the first time.
Of course, leading a bubble-wrapped life up to this point, they have caught every bug under the sun. Three years later that phenomena is finally subsiding. My heart goes out to mamas who have to arrange for alternate care but it’s one of the advantages of this lifestyle I cherish for sure.
5. You have a history of pissing people off in more traditional work settings and vice versa.
I remember one day making a big stink as a suit because the women were asked to take turns answering the phones while the receptionist was away. It wasn’t that I felt it was beneath me to answer phones (lord knows, I put in my time as a Kelly Girl temp), but I was livid because I was busy and the guys in the office were not asked to answer the phones.
As much as I’m nostalgic for the olden days, that archaic mindset befuddles me.
Today, in my home office, I make Craig answer the phone. Seriously. Give me a call and you’ll hear for yourself.
6. You like to wear whatever you want, whenever you want.
I set foot in an office for two months this summer. No panty hose to be seen I’m happy to report but it was one of those funky software start-ups so, maybe they’re just cool like that.
But back in the old days, sonny, I remember being allowed to wear jeans on Fridays. Ooooo…. that was fun. But again, I’m out of the fashion loop in more ways than one. You can wear pajamas pants all day if you choose. Or not. Word has it it’s not the best plan for your work at home psyche. But just knowing you could if you wanted to makes me smirk a little.
7. You like to have access to a window that opens.
Or a garden, or a therapeutic dog walking session. I find in working online (which is essentially what any sort of wahm scenario will entail) it’s essential you have an activity that balances out whatever the shift in energy is while you work.
For instance, for me, I need the grounding effects that gardening or walking to the mailbox brings. I need the healing power of nature to wake me up, inspire me and reconnect me with my inner purpose.
8. You’ve always had entrepreneurial tendencies.
I started off at the tender age of ten with my first venture, ‘Rent-A-Kid’. This scored me exchange for free horseback riding at the local stables, a big love of mine (the smell of horse manure). An entrepreneurial spirit is hard to break, so don’t.
9. You still have bad dreams starring your previous day jobs.
I still have dreams from my corporate days and not because the people there weren’t lovely. The truth is the hardest part about leaving my last job was the family I was leaving behind. We were actually really close and some are even Facebook friends to this day (that says something right?).
But because I’m so energy sensitive, it wasn’t an environment where I was able to use my innate talents to their fullest capacity. I felt it was a great experience to hone many skills that serve me today, but I’m glad I’m able to allow my energy to help dictate which direction to move, in order to best serve people with my own unique brand of bliss medicine.
10. You know who you want to work with and that requires you to work from home.
The world’s your oyster when you design your own business and that means you get to meditate on who it is you want help and serve. And it takes some experimenting and talking to a whole lot of people. There’s is a process but with a vision, some perseverance and a few mindset shifts, you’ll be well on your way.
Today, I love working with mamas who are ready to start exploring how they can rock an online biz by tapping into their gifts and yearning for connection. Or maybe the same mama but a year before all that happens.
Typically they have a four-year-old at this point. I don’t know why. My guess is that the preschool years we start to tap into our options out there and ask some important questions.
The rebel questions. And our inner rebel guides us to this world where we get to call the shots. With or without our pajama pants on.
Need some time to explore your rebel side within your busy mama-ing day? Check out the freebie below.
