Character Confession from an Alleged Bon Bon Eater

My husband learned pretty fast that if he truly was content having me as a wife who works from home, the last thing he better say in public or private is that I stay home all day eating bon bons. I’m a peacemaker (or long to be) and I think no matter what a women does, outside the home as a lawyer, IT person, doctor, assembly line worker, barista—or inside the home—butt wiper, PB&J master, laundry, budget person, Pampered Chef consultant, freelance writer, and let’s face it, those that work outside the home most likely come home and do many of the inside jobs, too—It. Is. Work.

Okay, I totally know that was a paragraph, not an appropriate sentence.

Anyway, I stay home and write, or attempt to. I also help out with different ministries and constantly think of things to encourage women. I just finished up a webinar book study on Made to Crave. I can’t sit still.

I’m feeling harsh over a two word sentence I heard this week. We had our Super Tuesday voting and I asked someone if they had a chance to vote. No, but only because by the time they got there, the polls had closed. After all, they said, “I work.”

That’s a trigger word for me. Apparently it touches on an insecurity with me, because I remember being intimidated sitting in a room full of women who worked traditional schedules outside the home, and I watched eyes glass over when I defined myself as a stay at home mom.

I just want the whole world to get on the same page. All women work. Mom or not, inside or outside the home.

This week I worked on editing critiques, creating a proposal, marketing my writing and a ministry event, I worked on laundry. I learned our basement drain is clogged so I’m researching a snake drain option to free the clog. I’m trying to figure out how to fix the dishwasher option so water doesn’t leak out the bottom. I’ve doled a lot of medicines, taken care of a sick child, helped with homework, worked on book reviews, spring cleaned the room the hubby and kids use for entertainment, paid bills, collected insurance information for various medical claims, made doctor appointments for two, researched dog arthritis, created meals, ran errands, taxied kids, and made plans for lab work. Oh I did lighter things like watch my DVR shows, but I’m always doing something even when the TV is on.

Those two words get me everytime when someone else is saying them, implying perhaps I don’t work. It feels harsh, and I’m tempted to be harsh back.

Saturday is my confession day, and I just want to get on the top of a platform, raise my fists and scream, “I work!”

But more than that, I’d rather come alongside someone else who might have the same insecurity and say, “My friend, you work. Most likely too hard. But I thought you’d like to know I notice.”

What is a trigger for you that makes you defensive?

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