At the risk of offending SAHMs...

Well, another night with little sleep leaves me still tired and irritable. As I was picking up the morning breakfast mess I pondered what to write here today. I considered not writing anything at all.

I am tired, you know.

But, true as that may be, it's not a reason to not write today.

It's an excuse.

If I had to get up this morning, get the kids to camp and daycare and set off for work in an office somewhere, I would have done that. I might not perform up to my normal, rested standards, but I would be at my desk, reaching into my reserves and pulling out everything I needed to accomplish the day's top priorities. Granted, I'd be looking at the clock every three minutes, yawning non-stop and drinking coffee by the pot, but I'd be on the job, doing what I had to do-- doing what the company paid me to do-- WORK.

And therein lies the difference between a stay-at-home mom and a work-at-home mom.

The stay-at-home mom lets her tiredness get in the way of the other things she hopes to accomplish when she's not quite so tired. The work-at-home mom gets those things done regardless.

The stay-at-home mom lets tasks slide because, well, because she can. She's not going to get fired. She doesn't have to worry about getting beat out of a promotion, or losing a client. And if she misses a deadline, so what? There's always tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

The stay-at-home mom allows the flexibility in her routine to stretch simple five-minute tasks out for days. Weeks. Months, even. "What's the rush?" she asks. "I can call tomorrow to request an interview. I'm too tired to sound professional today."

But the work-at-home mom, just as tired, makes the call anyway. She sets up the interview. Gets it done. Marks it in her calendar and off her "to do" list. And she moves onto the next task, which could very well be take the kids to the park. Or lie down and take a nap.

The work-at-home mom recognizes that she very well could get fired, even if not in the traditional sense. If finances get too tight, them she could lose her "at-home" status and join the millions of moms who work outside the home.

And she doesn't want that to happen.

So the work-at-home mom sits her sweet ass in the chair and she writes. Or she bribes the kids with a movie and she picks up the phone to work on those interviews. Or she brings her brood to the library during story time so she can do some research.

She figures out the best way to get things done. And then she does it.

The stay-at-home mom looks at what she needs to do each day and hopes she'll be able to fit it in. The work-at-home mom looks at what she needs to do each day, then she schedules her day around those tasks.

Can you guess who ends up feeling more stressed?

The stay-at-home mom, of course. She's got a million-and-one things on her "to do" list and she's not accomplishing any of them. They hang over her head like a hornet's nest on a splintering branch, ready to fall and release its army of angry, stinging hornets when it eventually comes crashing down.

And that menacing nest will come crashing down at some point if we don't take steps to remove it...and the splintering branch, too.

But not today. I'm too tired.