Why I work for myself

Last Wednesday I had a great reminder of why I work for myself. Now, let's be clear that running your own business is not easy. You take on quite a bit of risk, there is no guarantee of a paycheck (or that your clients will pay you on time), and there is no such thing as work/life balance (you just have a life). I've been spending an inordinate amount of time lately working on training materials for one of my largest clients. This means not only am I working my three days a week with Naomi watching the kids, but I put in another three hours every night after I put them in bed, plus naptimes on the weekends. Add to that my frustration with government regulation and taxes (That's a whole other post!) and there are days when I wonder if it would be easier to just work full-time elsewhere or be a full-time stay-at-home mom. While I know I could never go being a full-time employee (I like being the boss) I love working.

So last Wednesday, I got a reminder of what a great life I have. My son just turned 3 and my daughter turned 18 months. If you're a parent, then you know that means a trip to the doctor for a well visit. Their appointment was at 1:30 pm, so Naomi came and I worked in the morning doing project reviews with the students in my Six Sigma Black Belt course. I came up from my office at lunch and we all ate together. (Daddy comes home everyday at lunch, too.) The kids and I went to the doctor's appointment and on the way home, we got to stop by the railroad tracks so my son could watch for trains - I didn't have to rush back to work. Then when we got home, my daughter took a nap and my son and I went out to fly his new Lightning McQueen kite.

It was a beautiful sunny 70 degree day - unusual for March. Two things happened that afternoon that made me really stop and thank God for my life. First, I watched my son as he was lying in the grass, propped up an his elbow, looking up at his kite completely at peace. Then a little later on, while we were playing in his sandbox, he ran out to the middle of the yard and laid down on his back and yelled "Come on Mommy, come lay down with me." So I did. We just laid in the grass, feeling the warm sun on our faces, and watched the clouds and streaks from the planes. Later, that night as I was working on my training material and both kids were in bed sleeping, I remembered the afternoon and why I love working for myself.

Jot this down.... where?

Ok, so here's one more story for you. This past Friday I was running around getting things ready for my son's birthday party. Wouldn't you know I got four business calls that afternoon. My husband had also taken the day off, so I went to run a couple errands while he stayed with the kids.

Since I was in the car by myself I decided to check my voice mail and return a few calls. As I'm listening to my messages, I realize I don't have my planner, or anything I can take notes on for that matter, no big deal, I'll just listen and return calls on Monday. One of the messages was from the president of a company I have been trying to get a contract with for six months. He wanted me to call him back that afternoon - I needed something to write on now! I'm thinking - How can I not have a single piece of paper in this car! Then it dawns on me, I have diapers in my purse for my daughter. I can take notes on the back of the diaper then transfer them to my planner when I get home. I just need to make sure I do it before I forget and put the diaper on her.

I'm glad I called back that president, we have a meeting scheduled for next week. As for taking notes on a diaper - it's not the easiest thing in the world - but it works!

Training Materials, Rice, and Stickers

I know it's been a while and I have so many great stories to share. It's been busy here with me traveling and then getting called for jury duty - which by the way was fascinating. I know everyone tries to get out of jury duty, but it's so interesting. I'm actually very glad I was chosen and got to sit on a jury. If you have the chance, do it.

Ok, a couple weeks ago I was preparing for the first session of a Six Sigma Black Belt course I'm teaching. I had everything ready except the CDs for the students with the training material. I decided to bring my laptop upstairs and burn the CDs in the kitchen while my kids ate lunch. It was Naomi's day off how hard could this be? HAHAHA!

I set up my laptop on one part of my counter (away from any water or food sources) and the labels and cases for the CDs on another part of the counter. I got my children seated at the table with some chicken-flavored rice (one of their favorite foods). After I finish burning the first CD, I get the second started and take the first over to stick the label on it and slide it into sleeve. I thought I had a smooth process worked out. Then my son jumped down "I want stickers too!" he starts shouting. I peel parts of the unused paper off for him to play with and he proceeds to stick them on himself and chase Jake, our dog. I tell him to stop chasing Jake as I continue my CD making process.

Meanwhile, my daughter is still happily eating her rice. Ever once and a while my son pops back in for another "sticker" to play with. Suddenly, I wonder what has been happening with all the stickers. As I casually ask him what he's doing with the stickers, he replies "Nothin' mommy." This is when I realize he has stuck them to our wooden kitchen table, my couch, and on himself. (Have I mentioned he's in the stage where he only wants to run around in his underwear?) I go start unpeeling the stickers from the couch and his body. As I head back into the kitchen to continue burning the CDs, check on my daughter, and peel the stickers - I hope - off my table, I hear her laughing. I turn the corner to see her holding her hand out and Jake licking it off. I ask her "What did you just feed Jake?" See simply and innocently looked at me, held her one hand out to her side, and said "Nothin'." How's that for an 18 month-old?

I then spent the next 15 minutes cleaning up rice and stickers from the kitchen and children's bodies all while trying to not get rice stuck on the training CDs or in the CD sleeves. Believe it or not the CDs turned out just great.