My Husband's Job

I was at a function for Hannah last night, surrounded by Moms I did not know. The only Mom I did know was running the function and I was left alone to talk to people I'd never met. :::gasp!::: Can we say "out of my comfort zone". I am a shy person. I don't like to go out of my way to talk to people I don't know. I especially don't like the "stand and greet" the people around you at church.

For a while I just sat, watching the girls, sipping on my Starbucks iced tea. And then another Mom struck up a conversation with me. And as always, the question of what your husband does for a living comes up.

My husband is a web developer. He programs and builds websites for online training courses. I think the things he does is interesting. But the most unique thing about his job, is that he works from home. He works from home five days a week for a company based in Phoenix, Arizona, and has worked from home for six years now.

When I tell other women that my husband works from home, I always get the most interesting responses. I have found that most of the time, women don't want their husbands home all day. This particular Mom said having her husband work from home wouldn't work for them because she'd want him to constantly entertain her, spend time with her. I'll admit and say that when Steven first started working from home, it was an adjustment, but I wouldn't want it any other way now.

Prior to working at home, Steven commuted 70 miles one way. He left at 6:30 in the morning, and didn't leave work until after 6:30 to miss the heavy traffic, most nights not getting home until after 8:00. He only commuted a couple days a week, but the days he commuted were long days.

Steven's working at home works for us. We have an office, off of the laundry room, where his computer (and mine) is. He is disciplined and works 8 to 5, rarely coming out except for coffee refills, morning and afternoon snacks, and to get his lunch.

His working at home also allows him to be a part of the girls' day. He's able to check in with how the girl's school day was. He's able to adjust his working to attend Student of the Month assemblies, Preschool Christmas performances, major medical appointments (such as Rachel's on Monday), and other things of importance. Things that most working Dad's miss out on the majority of time.

Because the corporate offices are in Phoenix, Steven has conference calls weekly with the team of people he 'works' with. It's very rare that he has to make a trip to Phoenix, maybe once every other year for something special or big. The seldom times he does have to 'get on a airplane to go to work', they miss him terribly, and constantly ask 'when Daddy will be home'. It's a big deal when Daddy leaves the house 'to go to work'. It's different for all of us when he's gone, I'm used to having him home as well, we're together practically 7 days a week, with the exception of a few hours here and there through the week.

When I get into conversations with other women, I'm proud and happy to say my husband works from home. I love having him home.