We label people. Even ourselves. But it’s a good idea to remember your waitress may also be a biochemical engineer; Your mailperson may be a former radio personality (I know one!). One of the things people always say when they work alone at home is that people think they are just looking for a real job. It’s a label thing.
I met a group of moms at preschool. Most parents know, when you have kids, your social life starts to revolve around them. You hang out with their friend’s parents at sporting events and end up with a whole new group of friends who have children the same age. I am fortunate to say I found a great group of friends who fondly refer to ourselves as the “Park Moms” because we often meet at the park so our kids can play.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve come to know these women slowly. We mostly talk about kids, and we all choose to leave full-time positions to stay home with children. So recently, when it occurred to me that each of these women is an entrepreneur, I was a bit surprised I hadn’t noticed before. Lani teaches violin lessons. Sue hires herself out to build databases and do secretarial work. Ashley cleans houses. Sandy negotiates accommodation rates for sport tournaments. We all have a similar life plan: Family First. But we all work.
I now realize that this group of women make a great team. We could become Park Moms, Inc. It would be a varied company with eggs in many baskets!
Business person, Free-lancer, Working Mother, Stay-at-home Mom. We all wear many hats and we should find joy and admiration in all the different roles we play. I guess I’m learning that you can label people, but don’t forget that people are not like cans! It’s not a one label per package sort of deal.
