I have posted on our social media pages {Facebook | Instagram} about something kind of exciting that happened to me this year. I have been waiting for the magazine to hit the newsstand just in case something fell through before I said anything, but last week I finally got my hands on a printed copy of the August/September issue of Working Mother Magazine–and what do you know? There I am.
So here is the little story of how that happened, because the one thing I know for sure is that I definitely don’t have this whole ‘Working Mother’ thing down.
Early last spring I got an email from an Editor at Working Mother Magazine, basically saying they had seen my home office on Pinterest and would I allow them to submit it for consideration for an upcoming story about work at home offices? Sure, I said. Mentally half-laughing, half-crying inside since the office they wanted to show was in a home we were moving out of in about a month’s time.
Overall, I didn’t get too worked up about it as I knew that through the vetting process I might not get selected. I did give the room a quick glance and mentally noted about ten things that I would have to do if they wanted to come do a photoshoot–you know, like repaint the whole thing, add legs to my drooping craft table, hang the pictures proportionally, trim the bookcases, get new curtains…you get it, so before a mild panic could set in, I put it out of my head.
A few weeks later I got an email saying I was selected, and could I send more photos and answer some questions? We were just about to move, and it was apparent that they planned to use my images rather then come shoot it, so I breathed a sigh of relief, sent an email answering the questions, sent in a few more photos, and that was that.
All that being said, the part I haven’t mentioned is a little while after reading the email saying I’d been selected I had a very strange feeling {again the half-laughing/half crying thing actually}, because here is the thing…
I don’t have this whole “working mom” thing down, not one bit.
Prior to taking a full-time job last year, I loved doing the “Pinterest Mom” stuff–writing this blog with my friends meant I had every excuse to have kids with homemade Valentines, decorated bathrooms, and detailed birthday parties. It was fun, it was a creative outlet, and it was material for this website. But, I am not going to pretend that I can still pull all those things off while managing a full-time job, as great and flexible as my work is.
To keep it real, nowadays I am that mom just trying to make it work– reading work emails while making lunches at 6AM, writing blog posts at soccer practice, and I am currently at least 3 months overdue for a haircut. If the doorbell rings around 6PM at our house my kids barely look up when they say “Dinner’s here”–NOT LYING. Some seasons of life are like this, and all moms (working outside the home or not) know it’s hard day-in, day-out to keep up. I am no exception.
Here’s my honest story–I love writing for this blog and I love my job, I work with great people and after three expensive cross-state moves in three years and three kids who need to go to college, my income is important. I have major mom guilt, I constantly run late, I ‘drop the ball’ and I am more tired than I ever thought possible {oh yeah, I also have a sucky chronic health condition}. I am still figuring out how to be a full-time working mom and yet still be the mom I want to be. I am not by any means ahead of any other mother out there juggling a job and a family.
So being in a national magazine about being a working mother was just thrilling, strange and mildly guilt-inducing, lest someone think I was portending I totally had my act together!
Anyway…not to be dramatic–cause it was really it is just about my office decor–right? 🙂
Click HERE to read the article: {Be sure to check out the beautiful office of our friend, Diane from In My Own Style too}.
So, that’s my story about being in a magazine. It’s exciting and flattering and still a little surreal. I now have a great memory of an office I threw together in our formal living room a week before I started my job {that whole story is in the post on the office HERE} , in a home we rented for just a year. The magazine featured a room painted apple GREEN– a color I probably would never have picked in my own home– but likely that is what caught the Editor’s attention in the first place.
Life sure can be funny, can’t it? So, please remember if you bump into me with my fighting children, with coffee spilled on my shirt, realizing I forgot the snacks we were assigned for the soccer game, that just because I was once in Working Mother does not mean I have anything all figured out.
I am grateful to Working Mother, the editors and their readers for including me, and I appreciate all they do to support working mothers each month!
Thanks for stopping by~
Holly Estep says
Amy, thank you for being so transparent! I’m not currently a work at home mom, but I commute over an hour each way to work, so I understand reading e mails at 6AM and trying to find something decent for dinner on the way home. Know that you’re not alone in the mom-guilt, but also know that your children know they are loved and that’s the most important thing!
Amy says
Thanks Holly, that is a challenging– I know how long those hours on the road can be. Thank you so much for writing and your support. I love how all us Moms in the “thick” of it support each other! I hope you have a wonderful day 🙂
Amy
Helen says
The great thing about being a mom is being a mom. The best part about it is doing your very best as you for your family. You don’t have to be a super mom or the best mom in the neighborhood. I really believe that you are a wonderful mom and I think that you should pat yourself on the back for all you do for your family. Congratulations on your magazine article.
Amy says
Oh Helen, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a lovely comment. You are so sweet! I hope you have a wonderful day, you have brightened mine!
XO,
Amy
Pat @ LifeAtLydiasHouse says
Congratulations on your feature!! Please don’t fret over the working mom deal. Every mom that I know gets it. When you combine the full time job of “mom” with another full time job you just do the very best that you can and get over the rest. This season shall pass too!
Amy says
Hi Pat, you are so right and life is short. I loved hearing everyone’s kind words and yes, the busier you are the less the “little” things matter! Thanks so much for your positiveness 🙂 Have a great day, Amy
Amy Edwards says
Love your heart and honesty!!! Thank you. I used to be a work at home mom and now am a work full time outside of home and work when I can at home kind of mom. So yes, I totally get the “dinner’s here” or I forgot team snacks feeling. But I figure in the end, my family knows they are loved and I know that I am loved and God is bigger than all of my chaos.
Amy says
I love it–you are so right, God is bigger than all the chaos! He carries me through daily 🙂 I so appreciate your kind words and support! XO,
Amy
Tressa H says
Thank you so much for making me feel normal! Being “real” is the best gift a mom can give to another mother!
Amy says
Hey Tressa, we’re all in this together right? 🙂 We all have good days and bad days! Thanks so much for letting me know you appreciated my story–it’s all still a bit unreal! Take care,
Amy
Jackie Weisman says
Being a working Momma is hard and seeing amazing blogging Mommas can be hard. Thanks for pulling back the curtain and showing us the truth. I found your blog via the magazine!
Amy says
Thanks Jackie, I so appreciate you stopping by from the magazine and your kind words. All the jobs (working, mama and blogger) are hard but all are worth it. In the end we all just do the best we can, right? Have a great day!
Amy
Shirley@housepitality designs says
Congrats Amy!!!…so well deserved…your office is incredibly beautiful and functional…
Amy says
Thank you Shirley, you are so sweet! It was so exciting to see it in print–surreal!
Have a great day 🙂
Amy
Patty Virginia says
Congratulations, how excited you must feel to be featured. That’s awesome and well deserved.
Amy says
Thank you so much! It is exciting, you are too kind. Hope all is well…
Amy