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As Work at Home Moms, we talk about our "Why" as a positive thing. Our "Why" is our purpose, our reason, our muse. We refer to our 'Why' when we need inspiration or motivation to reach outside our comfort zone, to try a little harder, to keep going even when it's hard. Our 'Why' helps us to succeed.

Today I was asking "Why work from home" in a slightly different tone. Today, I am home with a sick puppy and am up to my eyeballs in puppy puke.

I'm new to this puppy thing. I was warned up and down about how much work a puppy is, and I thought "I have two children. How hard can a puppy possibly be?!" Well, one difference is that newborn babies aren't born with fangs -- at least mine weren't. So, in between changing the gauze patches on my shredded arms (those teeth are sharp!), and hours of puppy school, I fell in love with this furry beast. He was added to my list of "Why's".

So, today, while I was composing my work at home mom newsletter, in the background I hear my furr-ball start to vomit -- again. The thought that ran through my mind initially was not a happy "Why". It was more like:

* "WHY in the world am I home to deal with this while my husband gets to sit in a quiet office all day?"

* "WHY isn't HE dealing with cleaning up the 8th pile of yucky stuff?"

* "WHY don't I get any peace and quiet while I work?!"

After I cleaned up the puppy, rubbed his head and got him clean blankets, threw in another load of laundry, and climbed into bed with my sick 7 year old and my 3 year old to read stories, I had time to collect my thoughts. A little bit (ok, a LOT) of puppy puke was sure worth it.

And, later, when I made my phone call to my husband to tell him about our day, it wasn't the puppy-puke I was telling him about....

I told him how our daughter said that she wanted to plant some jelly beans to grow a jelly bean tree. And, how the kids were playing the game of Life and I overheard their rules. They decided that the person who got the most parents into the car won. That's why I stay at home.

And, if a furry little tail starts wagging when I walk into the room? Well, that's sure an added bonus.

So, the next time your warm and loving "Why" turns into a plea for help, take a deep breath and think of all the memories you would be missing -- both good and not-so-good, if you weren't a work at home mom.