It’s the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, one of my favorite working mother saints.  Join me in celebrating working mother Sarah Reinhard as we also celebrate the release of my biblical historical fiction ebook “Working Mother.”

What’s your name?

 Sarah Reinhard

Tell us a little bit about your family. 

4 kids, ages 9-almost-10, 7, 4, and in utero (due in March)

Imagine you’re at a dinner party.  Someone asks the question, “So, what do you do?”  What’s your answer?

A little bit of all kinds of things (grin), including laundry, juggling, entertainment, writing, chauffeuring, personal shopping, anger management and conflict resolution, and much more.  Actually, I usually just tell people I’m a writer. It takes less effort than explaining I work from home and somehow manage more than anyone else thinks I should be able to.

(Erin here.   Sarah blogs for herself, for the National Catholic Register, is an editorial consultant at CatholicMom.com, and has a bunch of books on Amazon, and that’s just for starters).  

How do you think God uses your job to help shape you into all He made you to be? 

What benefits (besides the economical) have you seen to your family that are a direct result of your work away from home? 

I actually work from home, so I get the best and worst of both sides of this. I get to look at the unfolded laundry all day and feel guilty about whether I’m ignoring a kid while I try to meet a deadline. But I’m also here when someone’s sick, and I work with incredible people who understand that I’m a wife and mom FIRST.  I have flexibility, but I also have a never-ending to-do list. Literally. There is ALWAYS something that needs done, whether it’s dishes or laundry, a writing project or client project, homework help or sports carpooling.  My kids see, very clearly, that family comes first. Family is part and parcel of all of it: the housework, the outside work, the fun we have.

How do you balance any guilty feelings you might have in the tension between your workplace and your homespace? 

Confession and constant conversation with God. I’m always assessing whether why I’m working outside my home achieves God’s will, which requires always asking him for guidance. I also keep myself in check by listening to what those closest to me are saying — God so often speaks in the voices of my husband and my closest family and friends. 

What is one thing that you would ask the people in your life to do to support you more? 

Coffee and chocolate, people, coffee and chocolate. 🙂

Thank you, Sarah!  

Are you a working mother?  So was (and is) the Blessed Mother!  If you enjoyed this interview and would like to celebrate working motherhood some more, please consider getting a copy of my $.99 historical fiction ebook, “Working Mother.”