You ever feel like you are living a lie?  I do most every time I call myself a work at home mom (WAHM).  I mean, I am a WAHM but there is a whole other side to me that is not.  The reality is that I am also a mom that works out of the home at a “real” job, as my husband puts it.  There seems to be so many negative feelings about moms that work outside the home.  So much so, I have felt that this part of my life must be downplayed and kept secret from the other moms that want to purchase my products to “support a mom staying home with her children.”

 I went to college for 6 years to get my masters degree in speech pathology.  I am a good speech pathologist.  I have made a difference in the lives of so many families and so many children.  Why is it that I have to feel embarrassed that I get up each day, get my kids ready for school, and head off to work myself?

I had to make a crucial decision about seven years ago.  After many years of trying to have children, we were forced to look into infertility treatments.  There was a day when I had to look at the bank account and decide this one major issue:  If I wanted to keep trying for a child I would no longer be financially able to stay home with that child.  I chose to push on with whatever financial means necessary to have a child and knew full and well the decision I was making.  Out of that decision came my two children, my real job and my WAHM job.

 Before you judge another mother about not staying home with their children, please take a moment to consider that what you think is reality may not always be.  I was fortunate to spend the first six months home with my children.  It was painful when they were little, I will admit that.  I am now at a position in my life when it might be possible for me to retire and just run my little WAHM operation but now I feel like “what’s the point?”  My speech pathology job is while they are at school; my WAHM job is still done while they are in bed.  It is the best of both worlds.  Who needs sleep any way?

Lisa Adkins is the owner of DryBees and Wahmies and is the mother of two.  She and her husband reside and raise their children in the beautiful hills of Southern WV.  She started her business in 2003 and her life has never been so busy and fulfilling.