Since leaving my full time job in February to pursue my writing, I have gotten a lot of comments about "not working'. Why does the phrase "working from home" translate to some people as "sitting around, watching cable"?
Every time I see my husband's grandmother she asks "Aren't you bored, sitting around and not working?" Hmm, I wasn't aware that I wasn't working. I am writing, coming up with story ideas, trekking to the post office mailing my queries, finding sources, doing interviews, and talking to editors.
And of course, there is my personal favorite: "Don't you miss your job?". Well, you must not know what my former job was. I was in the complaint department of a medical billing facility. I was required to take a minimum of 100 calls a day. That means I got yelled at 100 times a day or more. My bathroom breaks were monitored, and there were mounds, and mounds, and mounds of paperwork. I got paid seven dollars an hour and I had to pay seven hundred dollars a month to be covered by their insurance. Yes, I miss that job a whole lot!!!
To top it all off my husband has stopped pitching in with the housework (after all, what do I have to do all day?). My mother and I ran into one of her
co-workers recently. I am sure my mother talks about my sister and I and what is going on in our lives. The lady looked at me, said, "Gee, Crissy, what do you do with yourself all day long, just hang out and stuff?"
Yes, between laundry, dishes, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, watching my nephew and working, I just sit around; hang out all day, and watch cable. You figured it out!
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Crissy Gipson
A freelancer who lives in MI Internet Moms