There are many reasons that I work at home. One of them is having a birthday today. My daughter Hannah was born 11 years ago to day (at about 3:00 pm). I was fortunate to have 3 months leave before returning to my social work job. But when I did return to work, it was very hard. Part of it was leaving my baby and pre-schooler with someone else. But another part of it was that Hannah was a challenging baby. She didn’t sleep well unless held and in fact pretty much cried most the time unless she was held. She was four … years not months… old before she slept through the night. Her dad and I were tired a lot.

Finding a way to work at home didn’t change her temperament, but it did allow our family to function much better. I could nap during the day to catch up on sleep lost during the night when she’d wake. I was able to give time and attention to both my kids because I didn’t feel drained after a days job and household duties. I would have to say that the flexibility that comes from working at home is the single greatest benefit…at least for me.

So Happy Birthday Hannah and thank you for being a catalyst in my work-at-home career!