My First Earnings as a Stay-at-Home Mommy

Yesterday, a woman I met at the yarn shop I used to work at, brought her six-year-old granddaughter to my home for a knitting lesson. She is also making plans to bring two teen girls from her church over in the fall and have me teach the three of them how to make Christmas stockings. I only charge $10 for one hour lessons, so it's not like I made much money yesterday, but it felt significant:


I have never had any problems with the concept of staying at home. I never had huge career aspirations, and I'm more than happy that our family lives on Darin's income alone. It's such a privilege to stay home with Lucy and be able to be the primary shaping influence in her life as she grows. But there is just something about being able to use my skills and creativity in small ways to earn a little money... it feels nice. It's a financial contribution to our household even if it is a small one.

I feel much like I did as a "tween" when I had my first babysitting job (which probably earned me more money than my lesson did yesterday!). When I took that first job, I had hopes that the family would then refer me on to other families. Sure enough by the time I graduated high school, I had quite the list of families I babysat for and had to turn down "jobs" often. Similarly, I find myself hopeful that yesterday's lesson might lead to another, which may lead to another and so on and so forth.

It will be fun to see what, if anything more unfolds!