Let me know if this describes you…
Once upon a time, you were a bright-faced young professional dead set on taking over the corner office or making partner. You were ambitious and goal driven. Your Type A personality thrived in an environment that constantly compelled you to strive for greater professional goals and accolades…
…then you had kids. Before that, you thought about motherhood abstractly and almost as inevitable, but you did not understand that motherhood would change your perspective. Change your goals.
Suddenly, you understood why women want to be stay-at-home moms. Another billable hour in the office meant you missed out on an hour of your toddler’s life. Your professional goals started to seem less important and more burdensome.
And somehow, by luck or change of circumstance, you were able to ditch the 9-5 and become a SAHM. You were living the dream! Yoga pants every. single. day.
But the dream has become a lot less idyllic than you imagined. Maybe you’re downright depressed. You love the opportunity the SAHM life affords you. You get to walk your children to school every day and pick them up in the afternoon. You’re on the PTO/PTA. You volunteer in your child’s classroom. You get to take them to ballet or soccer. These are the aspects of the SAHM life that you love.
And, although you love this aspect of the SAHM life, your Type A personality is dying a little inside. The lack of your own personal goals and purpose is leaving you feeling defeated and unmoored. You have become a person who stays in her pajamas all day and falls asleep on the couch while her child watches TV.
And, oh the guilt. You feel guilty for giving up your career. You see your contemporaries getting raises and reaching professional milestones. Despite knowing the value of your role as a SAHM, you feel the burden of your student loans and guilt that you aren’t even doing the job those loans paid for. You consider going back to work but know that work is not going to make you happy either. Then you feel guilty for feeling guilty because you know you are so lucky to be a SAHM.
You need a purpose. You need to find an outlet just for you. I get you.
Hi Friend. I’m Candis.
I get you because I am you. I’m a former lawyer turned stay-at-home mom turned small business owner and blogger. I have one crazy kid I call “Goose.” In 2017 we moved from California (life-long native) to Colorado for my husband’s job. Moving to a new State was a big change for me. The biggest change of all was leaving my law license in California and becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Granted, I can get my license to practice in Colorado, but…I don’t wanna. (Insert foot stomping and toddler tantrum). The bottom line is I want to live my life for myself and my family. I don’t want to live for my profession (unless it’s a business I built myself). Also, the Goose is an only child (a bit by nature and a lot by choice) and I don’t want to miss out on her life. The law isn’t going anywhere, but my daughter’s childhood is flashing by.
All I ever wanted to be (once I had a child) was a stay-at-home mom. Yoga pants all day long! Yay!
But here’s the catch…
I suck at being a stay-at-home mom. #truth. I don’t have patience when I’m in a funk. And I was in a major funk by about month two of the SAHM life.
I went from being a busy lawyer surrounded by friends and family to a stay-at-home mom in a new city. I was feeling adrift and a bit lonely. I found myself sleeping in late every morning (luckily my daughter is a sleeper too) and waking up to feel unmotivated. I spent entire days in my pajamas watching YouTube and Netflix. I craved intelligent conversations. My Type A personality was foundering with the lack of purpose and goals. And I wasn’t killin’ it in the mothering department either. I felt like a failure on all fronts.
Fed up with these feelings, I woke up one morning with the thought “just rise and shine Mom! Get up, get dressed and get to work!” This call to action was enough to drag me from my warm bed and was the start of this blog!
When I said that I struggled with motivation, I wasn’t lying. The process of finding purpose is hard work. It takes a lot of soul searching and good ol’ basic research. I wasn’t napping the whole time. We bought our first house, the Goose started school and I worked on myself…hard. I started with physical wellbeing, which improved my mood and then I finally got down to the task of being an entrepreneur.
In 2018, I started a small business. Now I spend my days optimizing that business, while also being the type of mom I have always wanted to be. I have found happiness in the in-between. SAHM + Entrepreneur = WAHM (work-at-home mom) or #mompreneur if you’re fancy. I have a driving purpose and goals to meet which fuels my Type A personality, but I can also walk my daughter to and from school every day and volunteer at her school any time I want.
So why are you still reading?
Are you a former career-driven mom turned stay-at-home mom? Are you depressed and unmotivated? Have you lost your spark and feel like you’re failing at your new job as SAHM?
I got you, mama! I’m here for you and you can always reach out.
What you’ll get from me…
I’m constantly researching how to optimize my life and business, and how to be a happier person overall. I’ll share what I learn. I’m here to guide you to find a purpose above and beyond the SAHM life.
Do you want to start a business? Ok. Let’s figure it out.
Do you want to start a blog? I hear ya, it’s a great creative outlet and can even make you $.
Just want to get a little motivation from someone who totally understands you? I got you, girl.
Still there?
Make sure to sign-up for my email list so you know when I publish new blog posts. Also, follow me on Instagram at @riseandshinemom to see my daily shenanigans and little bits of motivation.
Get up. Get dressed. Get to work.
