by Wendy L. Combs

There is no greater life altering event than giving birth. Not only has your body produced another living being that is totally dependent on you, but the girl you were before has vanished, and a more important, more valuable person has emerged.

Or has she???

If we leave our "jobs" to become work at home or stay at home moms, who do we become? Do we cease to exist because we no longer fill someone else's cubicle? And what if we work at home. Is it real work?  Are we real workers?  It’s work, but it’s at home. Is it real work? Do we still count?

Inevitably after one gives up her brick and mortar job, everyone, from your mom to the mail man, will ask: “So what do you do NOW?”

It’s as if people assume that once you have left the four walls of Blah, Blah and So&So that you fall into a black hole with nothing to do.

The question comes in a few different versions. For example, “What do you DO now?” The person assumes there is no worthwhile activity other than creating the bi-monthly Widget Report. Also, “What do you do NOW?” As if life after leaving your job is such an unknown – like you are going to drift out into the desert and who knows when you will return? Someone concerned for your well being may say “What do YOU do now?” – As if you have suffered a severe injury when you are no longer pushing papers around your desk. However, the question will also be asked by people who may be at the edge of the cliff. They may be wondering how they can change their own lives. Their toes may be hanging off and you may just be the breeze in their hang glider to help them soar into their own blue sky of work-at-home-mom.

One’s answer is the greatest opportunity for a work-at-home mom. This question has just as much advertising power as a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl. This is the perfect time to silence critics, gain supporters and to inspire others. It is crucial that you have your answer ready. The minute you hesitate or say um…you have lost them. It is the one question that you will hear just as much as “how are your children?”

This is where the work-at-home-mom can pull out her pink, shiny bugle and toot it so loudly they can hear it in the corner office. The work-at-home-mom has truly got it all!

But, like any good bugler, a happy tune takes some practice. So, don’t leave your answer to this all important question to chance. It is your 30 second spot and really can be summed up in one or two sentences. “I am the CEO of a small, not-for-profit”, “I run the home office”, “Since I retired, I have started my own work-at-home business”, “I do it all!” Direct eye contact, a warm smile and a confident well rehearsed answer to this question is better than any business card. The first time you answer the question, it may seem a little contrived and you may say it a little fast. However, YOU WILL BE GIVEN MANY OPPORTUNITIES to practice your answer. Be confident in your answer and you will be confident in yourself.

Once the fog clears, and a new mom is able to get a good night sleep, those old instincts of survival come flooding back. And this time, survival isn’t just about landing the promotion, or getting a new BMW. The stakes are even higher and the intensity for success is greater. This is the kind of pressure that produces the work –at- home mom. Similar to a lump of coal that has the weight of the world on it, a mom can become someone with ever increasing value. The work at home mom has can contribute financially to her family as well as being home when she is needed the most.

Always know your answer to the question, “what do you do now?” regardless of what the person may be implying. It is worth it to spend a few minutes practicing in front of the mirror. Eventually, it will become as natural as breathing or breast feeding. No matter how the question is asked, your answer will always be your sword, your smile your shield and your confidence the final blow.

Wendy lives in St. Louis, Mo with her husband and four children. She spent 15 years in the insurance industry and now is a now home-based freelance writer who has it all.