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Good Help is Easy to Find

 

I recently went through the most magical three hours of my life. No, it didn’t involve romance. It didn’t end up with a fantastic new high-paying client. It didn’t even include something chocolate-filled and fattening.  

I took the advice of one of our readers and got myself a mother’s helper.  

Awhile back, I posted A Freelance Mother’s Plea, asking everyone to share some of the ways they coped with keeping children occupied while trying to get some work done. I got some great feedback, and if I’m not mistaken, I have implemented each one of your suggestions at some point during the past few months. The last of these that I tried was the one contributed by Deb (http://gscottage.blogspot.com/), who recommended having someone come in to watch my daughter while I was still at home. Deb, you are a genius. 

I have a cousin who just turned 12, and she’s been dying to get her hands on some babysitting experience. Since I’ve been dying to get my hands on some uninterrupted work time, I thought I’d give her a try.

I wish that I could wrap her up and send her to each and every one of you. 

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my daughter loves her, but even without that enthusiasm, I think I would have rave reviews for this experience. I’m still slightly neurotic about leaving my daughter with sitters, so it was great for me to be physically present for the whole afternoon. At the same time, I shut myself in my den, curled up on the couch, and went to work pounding on the keyboard. Lately, I have been trying to keep to Lorna’s 50-point work routine, but have not been meeting with much success. On this day, I got all 50 points crammed into that brief three-hour window. Since my cousin is young and because she’s family, it also didn’t cost me too much to have her on hand. (And she cleaned up after my daughter. She cleaned.) 

The reason it took me so long to implement Deb’s suggestion is that I was hesitant about the idea of a “mother’s helper.” I’m a writer, so I set pretty high stock in words and their connotations. For me, a mother’s helper conjured up images of high maintenance city women who love the concept of parenting but don’t really like all the work that it involves. The term reeked of suburban perfection, manicured lawns, and large SUVs.

I’m happy to report that in this instance, my stereotyping and narrow-mindedness were completely wrong. I fully intend to turn this into a regular practice. Freelancing just got a heck of a lot easier.  

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    Comments

    1.
    On November 13th, 2007 at 2:41 am, Deb said:

    Tamara, I am so excited for you. I’m so glad you gave it a try and are working through how to best have it serve you.

    I have been watching your’s and Lorna’s process with great interest as I try to carve out my own path.

    Best of luck to you.

    2.
    On November 13th, 2007 at 11:29 am, Allena Tapia said:

    My oldest is in school, and my youngest is in preschool three days a week. I could not imagine writing as much as I do without those three blissful, quiet, productive days. I hate “multitasking” because to me that means I end up ignoring one thing or the other…ie the child ends up in front of the TV babysitter. So I compartmentalize. Three days for writing & business, four days for family.

    3.
    On November 13th, 2007 at 1:13 pm, Laura said:

    I think it’s great that you found a mother’s helper that you could trust so quickly. I know that this is something that many work-at-home moms agonize over, but it sounds like you’ve found the best option with your daughter still in the house, but you able to work.

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