Kristin Thomas is a mother of four who went back to work in 2013 after being a SAHM with her young boys. She now works a part-time job with a flexible schedule. Read about how Kristin went from SAHM to WAHM in part one of her story, How One Mom Fits a Flexible Job into Her Busy Life.
Several months ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It felt like I had just figured out how to juggle oranges—going back to work part-time, managing a community arts project in my town, and raising four boys—and someone threw a watermelon into the mix. My initial thought was, I don’t have time for this. I was angry and in denial, but refused to be a Debbie Downer. That attitude, and the support of family, friends, and co-workers, helped get me through a double mastectomy.
I turned 40 this year and celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. With four kids and an awesome husband, I’ve got too many fun years ahead to let this cancer thing get me down. I am fortunate that no chemo or radiation will be needed. Still, with several doctor’s appointments per week, my juggling act became a full-blown circus act.
With my final surgery at the beginning of March, this breast cancer business will have been a surreal six-month blip in my life. I am lucky to have caught it early. But this experience also serves as a reality check. As we age, and our parents age, and our kids age, this is surely not the last challenge with health we will face as a family.
When I initially returned to a WAHM role in 2013, I wanted a flexible job, but I didn’t necessarily need one. I am smart, educated—and fun to work with!—and I recognized that the opportunity for me to earn a paycheck as well as volunteer and look after my family would not be possible without work flexibility.
But due to my cancer diagnosis, flexibility in my job went from a strong desire to a must have. Like many others, I need to manage my health along with my career and my family.
For me, the importance of my role at FlexJobs also became more real after my diagnosis. Just as my own “want” became my “need” when I discovered I had cancer, I know that millions of people absolutely need flexibility to work. And my passion for the work that I do does not just represent my own two feet in the morning, or the twelve feet of my family, but those millions of people who want and need to live a better life. Join me in supporting 1 Million for Work Flexibility.
photo credit: Kristin Thomas
Anyone who says ” you can’t have it all” never met Kristin Thomas!
Thanks Lori – my fellow co-founder of Friends of Greentree Park and friend.
Kristin you forgot to mention your talent for organizing and design…add that to the juggling act!
Thanks Amanda!
An inspiring story about a too-neglected topic, Kristin. Thank you.
Thanks so much Robin. There are so many smart people, who are contributing in great ways to their work, who are also battling health issues and struggling to managing it all – work flexibility is a necessity.
I fully agree. Last year when I was diagnosed, it set my world upside down at first. As an active community leader, I had to have flexibility in my job. Thankfully, I work for an extremely supportive organization, so I was able to have that. Plus, I had great community partners who stepped in for me when needed. Flexibility and a supportive workplace are a necessity. Thank you for sharing your story!
Thanks so much for your comment Julie. It sounds like we have a lot in common. Good luck with your cancer journey, career, and the work you do for your community. It takes a village never became more true for me than in this past year. Thank goodness for a solid network and wonderful people for us both.
Kristin,
Thanks for taking time to write those two articles about your SAHM and WAHM experiences. I am very happy to hear that your breast cancer was detected and treated early, that is excellent news and, the photos of you, your husband and four boys, make me smile and think what a blessing to have such a wonderful family.
I discovered the FlexJobs website today while looking for a website to help me find a front-end web designer with experience in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript who can hand-code the whole page without relying upon too many frameworks like Bootstrap.
It was recommended to me that Freelancer.com might be a good place start. However, after looking at FlexJobs, comparing it to Freelancer, and reading your story, there is absolutely no doubt that I will give FlexJobs a try and see what happens.
PS. I live in the Philadelphia suburbs too, used to work in the Malvern PA corporate center off of Rt.29 and have enjoyed many early morning breakfasts at the Classic Diner in Frazier before work every day. At 62, I now work predominantly at home too, and love it.
Look forward to talking with you at some point.
Very best wishes,
Don
Hi Don – it’s great to hear from a former Malvernite corporate center person. I started my career at SCT in that corporate center, moved to CT, CA, WY and then back to Malvern again where I work from home in the Borough. My family loves Malvern and all that it has to offer. FlexJobs is amazing and I am not just saying that because I work there, but because I’ve used it too. I get a chance to read all of our daily success stories from job seekers. It’s a privilege to be involved with a company that helps so many people create a better work/life. Good luck with your job search!