She was employed in the same job for four years. When I asked her what she did, she said, "nothing, mostly." She sat at a desk and waited for noon so she could eat her lunch. She stared out of the window in silence. She went to the toilet for something to do. She may be exaggerating, but she claims she could have done the amount of actual work she did during those four years in a week.
Now she's a self-employed, home-based childminder. She can never sit still; there is always someone needing attention, or food, or collecting from somewhere. Silence is a foreign concept. She has to fit in stacks of paperwork in the evenings or while the children nap (if they do). Going to the toilet by herself is a luxury.
Life has improved immeasurably.
She is using her brain again, and even the degree she worked so hard to earn, planning educational activities, keeping records, arbitrating disputes, negotiating and all the million other things that make up her day. She is there for her own children. She can choose the days she works and can decree Thursdays as her day off without having to ask permission - or change that if circumstances change.
Working at home may not be an easy option, but then again, how attractive is the easy option anyway? Especially if the easy option is boring you to tears.
PS. The blog has a new home to live and work in!
Please come and join me at http://liveandworkathome.wordpress.com/
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