You Can’t Win ‘Em All, Right?

People always ask me how I can be a stay-at-home mom to two children, and be a photographer.  I always smile and laugh.  And maybe add a shrug of the shoulders.  I was always the girl in school who took the honors and AP classes.  In college my “sweet spot” was 20 credits.  (Even while being pregnant and having a baby.)  And I still don’t mind the deadlines, constant e-mails, and added stress that juggling my family life and my photography life has provided me.

What would I do if I got bored?  Well, that question is so far from my mind right now I can’t even tell you.  And I like it that way.

One day a few months back I was sitting on the couch with Mackay and Zack reading a book.  My phone rang unexpectedly, so I left the kids on the couch, and jumped up to get it.  It happened to be a potential client.  I was trying to speak with the lady while keeping an eye on the kids.  (From a distance, so their noise wasn’t picked up by the phone.)  A few minutes into our conversation, I heard Zack giving a little concerned whimper.  I looked over to see Mackay holding him upside down by his feet.  (His head not even touching the ground.)  Zack’s concerned noises seemed to be a polite plea to me saying, “Um, mom.  A little help here.”  “Aah!”  I ran over to rescue my child, while holding the phone to my ear.  Chaos ensued.  I was trying to recover and calm my children, while keeping a calm, professional demeanor on the phone.  Eventually I skipped over the “professional” facade and let the woman know what was going on in my house.  She didn’t seem too impressed.

Eventually I hung up the phone with the thought, “You can’t win ‘em all.”  I wasn’t upset with my children or my circumstances of working from home.  I love my children, and plan to always put them first in my life.  The woman, obviously, never called back.  Oh well.  If she isn’t willing to understand the crazy fun of a three year old holding a 6 month old upside down, she’s not the client I want to be working with anyway.

But someday, it wouldn’t hurt to have my own office.  (I’m already envisioning how I’ll decorate.)