My Job(s)...Mom & Illustrator

With all the hub-bub recently with the comment about Ann Romney (stay at home mom) never having worked a day in her life, I reflected a bit on my own "Job(s)." We all play many roles in our lives...we are multiple things at once: children, siblings, parents, caregivers, volunteers at schools and community, housecleaners, cooks, etc. We also may have "employment"...work we do for monetary compensation.  I think the comment was mispoken in saying Ann Romney never worked a day in her life because she essentially isn't monetarily compensated for all the hours of work she does in her home. We all say things we don't mean, but I do think not enough credit is given to those women or men who devote countless hours as homemakers and mothers/fathers. It's the toughest job I know...24/7, no vacations.

As a "stay-at-home" mom with 4 kids, I feel SOOOOOO blessed to be able to have employment I can do from my home while performing my motherly duties. I can even include my kids in my job as an illustrator when it takes me away from home...like school visits and book signings (one of my kids snapped this picture for me at a fundraiser for their school).

I am one lucky lady. Not many employment opportunities offer what being an illustrator does...working from home, working from anywhere in the world, working in your pajamas with a kid on your lap. I love being an illustrator. I love art. And I love that I can stay home with my kids while having gainful employment from my home.

Being a stay-at-home mom is not always easy. Some days it looks like this...ALL DAY LONG...
But others, it looks more like this...
That is my payment...not monetary but worth SOOOOO much more. Money can never give me the same feeling I get from a kiss, cuddle, or even a "Thank You" from one of my kids. As those Mastercard commercials say..."Priceless."

And when I can pass on all I know and learn to these future contributors to society, I feel even more like I'm doing something important. So all you stay-at-home workers out there (moms or dads), remember that what you are doing is VERY important.  Love those kids and raise them well. Our world will be a better place for it.

5 comments:

  1. Julie thank you! I am feeling it the same way. I am stay at home mum of two (5y and 9 months) and I wish to be an illustrator because I can do the job of my dreams and be here for my children 24h a day. But I still meet people saying - so you are doing nothing... Sometimes it is much easier to work 8h in the office than 8h at home with small children...
    If you wish to visit me. My illustrations are here:
    http://ateliervad.blogspot.com/
    and the blog about my life:
    http://vad-art.blogspot.com/

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  2. Julie - AMEN! That is why I posted my comment about staying home a few days ago. I am still going to be tutoring, but I think it is important to recognize that being a stay at home mom is a job, and a GREAT one at that. Thanks for your blog post. It was great!

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  4. Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you
    using for this site? I'm getting sick and tired of Wordpress because
    I've had issues with hackers and I'm looking at options for another platform.
    I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.



    My blog ... Biogeniste Reviews

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    Replies
    1. I use Blogger. And I think the template is called Simple. It's very, well,...simple. Good luck.

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I'm a freelance illustrator working in the children's book industry. I love kids and raising my own 4 children. They are the inspiration and the passion behind all I do in art and in life. See my website at JulieOlsonbooks.com

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