I’ve been a stay at home mom for 5.5 years now. It’s a job that requires none of my skills, and in fact requires a ton of skills that I’m lacking: organization, a penchant for tidiness, the desire and patience to play with small children, the ability to stretch a dollar – I’ve got none of these. After awhile having none of the skills required for your job starts to affect your self-esteem. Am I a failure, or am I just in the wrong job?

So, I’ve been thinking. How can I take the skills I actually have and apply them to my current employment situation? Hmm.

1. I can write. I spent hours writing cat, hat, bat, at, fat, top, pop, stop, lap, nap, gap… it was underwhelming.
2. I can be funny. I started telling my kids funny jokes and stories. They stared blankly at me. Then they farted and laughed hysterically. Worse, they began telling me “funny” jokes and stories leaving me worried about my funny legacy.
3. I can cook. My kids are fairly adventurous eaters compared to some of their peers, but they’re still just kids. While they will try most things, they prefer familiar foods. They also prefer to eat at 5:00. They also prefer to require tons of attention in the 3:00-5:00 time slot. They also prefer to ask if dinner is ready 926 times per hour, sometimes starting before lunch. All of these preferences leave cooking an arduous chore compared to the creative hobby it used to be.