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Betty’s Story
Even before the advent of the WFH or work from home setup, I had been telling my school friends that my mother worked from home. This was over 35 years ago.
I guess I was ahead of my time but to me it made perfect sense. My dear mother who looked after all ten of us children was at home, working hard.
Back in the day, I bet my classmates thought that perhaps it meant my mother had some kind of home business. These days, when someone is labeled as working from home, they actually hold professional posts or jobs that operate remotely. At the time and especially nowadays, surprisingly and sadly enough, when someone is not professionally employed, they are said to be “not working,” something which I have always found an outrage, particularly for stay-at-home mothers who labor hardest and longest to keep a healthy, happy home.
People would then quickly add, “I mean they don’t have a job,” which is hardly any consolation because it still does not recognize the hard work that comes with dedicated homemaking, day in and out, weekends, holidays and every minute in between. It minimizes the noble decision of focusing fully on the family particularly when the kids are still young. Nor does it give justice to the hardest job on earth — parenting, motherhood in particular.
Many stories have been written about shifting paradigms when it comes to stay at…
