Redefining SAHM - New Name, New Image?

Recently inspired by the story of a good friend who publicized her career choice to stay home with kids, I re-wrote my Linked In profile. Purely because it makes me proud to see an accomplished, successful career woman like my friend, make this choice, I wanted to share some ways in which the choice to stay home with kids might be seen as a continuation of career, rather than a departure from the same.

This is what I came up with:

Home Creation and Innovation Leader:

• Leads development of values-based vision for family growth

• Devises family growth strategy from values and vision

• Leads implementation of growth and development strategy in collaboration with all family members

• Researches human growth, development, and education and continually revises growth strategy as relevant

• Maintains awareness of local and global issues to cultivate relationships and build connections to community

• Develops and tracks relevant metrics of family growth in line with values and vision (e.g., #1000hoursoutside challenge per year, fundraising for women's mental health #runforwomen)

Five full years into the transition from corporate to SAHM, I am realizing that skills I worried I would lose, are not only utilized, but continue to add value and develop everyday. The main difference is that the value I am creating is something we chart the course of as a family and will (hopefully) live the benefits of for years to come.

It leads me to fully internalize the age-old question of our times, being if we, as a society, value the work of raising children to be future leaders, why is it perceived as "pausing" one's career to take this work on?

The responsibilities described above are ones that I have thoughtfully considered and enacted in a way not much different to which I did for corporate clients. Vision boards are documented and carefully stored as part of our family history and