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Name: Kitara Wilson

Greetings fellow moms. My name is Kitara Wilson and I reside in Fremont, CA. I am not of Indian descent, I am a black woman, and found your site while searching for message boards with members based in Fremont. I was particularly drawn to the Working Mother forum because I recently returned to work after giving birth to my now four-month-old daughter, Kamila.

Kamila is my second child. I also have a four-year-old son, Jahid. I was able to be home with Jahid well beyond his first year and having to return to work now is very difficult for me. I miss my daughter terribly and feel guilty for not being able to provide the same type of one-on-one bonding I was able to give to Jahid.

My husband works nights right now and I've only been back to work a little over a week so I am adjusting to having to do the single parent thing with two kids, and it's rough. I was raised by a single mom and I commend any man or woman who is a single parent because it is not easy.

Right now I feel like my life is, in a simple phrase, constant chaos. I work in Hayward and leaving here at five, by the time I pick up the baby here in Hayward, drive back to Fremont and pick up my son, it's well after six when we walk in the door. Then it's rush rush rush with homework, dinner, preparing lunches for the next day, laying out clothes for the next day, night time routines, cleaning the kitchen, nursing the baby, washing clothes and the list can go on and on. Sometimes I look up and it's already eleven o'clock and I think \";where did the time go?\"; Mornings aren't much better getting three people dressed and out the door so I can make it back to work for 8 (8:15 is more like it!) Weekends are usually a blur because Saturday is really your only one true day because Sunday is usually spent getting ready for Monday. It's a never ending cycle. This is chipping away at my spirit big time. Some people thrive off of this kind of constant bursting energy, but not me - it does not bring me inner peace and joy. And it's not that I hate my job, because I don't, or hate the people I work with, because I don't. But being home with and for my family comforts my soul, it's what makes me happy. And let's not mention the guilt I feel because not only am I leaving my baby with a daycare provider, but my poor son is spending almost 12 hours a day at school - that's insane! But, it's the reality of working parents. And I don't like this reality.

I was seeking out Fremont message boards because I am an Independent Self-Care Consultant with Warm Spirit and I was trying to find a way to connect with other women in Fremont to share with about my Warm Spirit business. Warm Spirit is the vehicle that is going to emancipate me from my corporate job, giving me the freedom of finances, time and energy that will allow me to be home with my children, and will allow me to focus on my passion - writing (can't you tell?)
Warm Spirit was made for and with women of color - us - in mind. The company is very diverse and excludes no one, but the business model was developed to create products for women that look like one of the co-founders and branch out from there, instead of the other way around which is how everyone else does it. Women of color are always the afterthought.

I see so many beautiful Indian women in Fremont each and every day and I can tell in the way you dress and carry yourselves that you take much pride in your appearance and self-care. I sincerely would like to expand my business by recruiting Indian women to join me in this movement to get out of the work rut, but I've never known how to approach anyone. I'm not in any circle that would put me in intimate contact with someone and I don't want to appear pushy and just start approaching women on the street, in the beauty aisle at Target or at Lake Elizabeth while we're all there with our kids. Your culture is very close knit and supportive, something I'm sad to say, but a good number of my culture could learn from. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt Indian women can build wealth, not just earn wages, with Warm Spirit due to the importance of self-care that you already value and you're built in support system.

I hope that I have not offended anyone to think that I am abusing your message board. My frustrations that I spilled out earlier are very real and very true - I do not want to work outside the home. My purpose for reaching out to you is because I know that I am not alone in my frustrations. I am not the only working mom feeling guilty about leaving her kids, not having time for herself and having her spirit, what makes us us, deflated like a balloon because of the need to work. I want options. I want to control my money instead of money controlling me. I want to get money out of the way (not worrying about bills, tuition, daycare, food, car maintenence and all the other things that create the need to work) so that I can be free to do what brings me joy, to be there for my husband and children, to do more in my community and to not sit in my employer's parking lot each morning thinking \";there's got to be a better way\"; or cringe every time one of my kids get sick or the school is closed and I have to go to my new boss, who has no children, because I don't know how he'll respond, to get the day off. I can't be the only working mom who in 10 years from now while our kids are in middle school and high school, does not want to still be living a chaotic life and dreaming of what it would be like to be free. And it is because I know that I am not the only mom who feels this way that I am reaching out to you. I am looking for moms who want to be enterprise owning moms who build wealth, not just working moms who earn wages.

If you are interested in joining me in owning your own enterprise, visit the Warm Spirit site at warmspirit dot com to learn more about the company. If you are moved to know more after visiting the site, I'd like to invite you to be my guest this Sunday at 5pm PST for a live and very special business opportunity empowerment teleconference call (open to women across the country, not just in Fremont). The dial in number is 702-851-3330, code 98198#. If you like what you hear on Sunday, email me at kitara at warmspirit dot org to have a conversation. I am on a mission to make this happen in my life and welcome anyone else who wants to do the same.

I certainly appreciate you letting me vent and share my business with all of you. For those who are not interested in Warm Spirit, do you have any advice to share on how to reach out to women in the Indian community here in Fremont?

Continued success to all the working moms. May you find your joy and calm amidst this thing we call life.

Kitara

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