Simple Perks, With No Raises or Promotions
Posted
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 3:12 PM
by
Human Blogger
In our town, inflatable play centers are popping up every where. Within 5 miles of my house I am aware of three different inflatable play centers. We visited one of the newest ones today with my girlfriend and her two children. Our toddler girls had so much fun! They, and mommies too, bounced for two hours straight.
It seems that play areas for preschoolers have become big business in my town. Just this year, three new inflatable play centers opened and in the fall two indoor play and activity centers will be opening. These centers compare to Atlanta's Creative Discovery Museum. With all these kid places opening I get excited to think that maybe more moms and dads are choosing to stay home with their children. These places must be observing a trend and capitalizing on it. I have no demographic data to back up this statement, but you can usually make assumptions by observing what companies are springing up and becoming successful (at least that Marketing degree is still useful for something!).As my blog name suggests, I'm very much in support of stay-at-home moms (or dads). I don't believe I'm old-fashioned, but I see the huge benefits my children have reaped by me being able to stay home with them. At the same time I respect women who have to work. As a professional woman in my past life, I know the pressures of the corporate world. I had my dream job as a corporate communications professional. I received a Bachelor's degree and worked hard to earn the position. My communications job required me to write correspondence and talking points for the CEO of a large Fortune 500 company in addition to employee communications across the company. I know what it's like to have deadlines -- unrealistic ones -- and to have the whole company scrutinizing my every word. I remember one time when I mistakenly used the word "effect" in the place of "affect" in a letter from our CEO (yes, CEOs don't usually write their own letters). Thank goodness only about five co-workers, including my boss, knew that I had written the letter on behalf of our CEO. But sure enough, after the letter was printed and distributed to over 11,000 employees I promptly received phone calls from my boss and each co-worker pointing out my mistake. It was a stressful job -- any small mistake was costly and was multiplied by 11,000. I didn't quit work as a communications specialist because I couldn't handle the stress any longer. No, it was the joy and fulfillment that I was lacking at the office that called me home. And that's exactly what I've received with my current job as a full-time stay-at-home mom -- unspeakable joy and fulfillment! The rewards are so much different now. No raises or promotions. No public praises of a job well done. No glamorous business trips in beautiful Ann Taylor suits. No luncheons to develop strategies with other like-minded professionals. Now my raises and promotions are the new words my little girl speaks, the new colors and shapes that she learns, and the smiles my son gives when I coo at him. My praises come from my husband and my children when they hug me and I truly know that they need me. My business trips in classy suits have been replaced by play dates in comfy jeans and tennis shoes. And the luncheons are at kid-friendly restaurants with my girlfriends and their children -- the strategies are to avoid spilt drinks and fights over kids' meal toys.
Any business that caters to my young children, which in turn makes my job even more fun and enjoyable, will gain my support. My kids and I will probably be some of the first at the new play and activity centers this fall. It's the simple perks that make my job a blast!