I’ve been a freelancer for the past 20 years, while my kids have been in the process of growing up. Working for myself has served me well for the most part. It’s given me an income (if one can consider making as little as $2,432 a year an income) while allowing me to “be there” for my kids. Because of my job’s flexibility/nonexistence, I didn’t ever miss a Halloween parade, an Easter egg hunt, or a fight. I’ve picked up broken hearts, crushed spirits, and about 0.4 million Cheerios. I’ve driven to numerous sporting events, to seven different schools, and practically over the edge.

What I haven’t done is earn enough money to put said children through college or save up something for me to fall back on in my elder years.

But there are amazing benefits to being a freelancer. And they are:

5) I don’t have to hire someone to care for my kids, clean my bathrooms, or cook my meals. (Hey, wait a minute. Those are benefits, why?)

4) I have plenty of free time to work on household projects (I just don’t have any money to buy the supplies to work on household projects).

3) I have the opportunity to read to my heart’s content (as long as I can finish the books within the three-week window that the library allows for checkouts, because I can’t afford to buy books).

2) I don’t have to stand in line at the state unemployment office to get a meager subsidy check (because as a self-employed person I am not entitled to unemployment insurance).

1) I can watch all the Gilmore Girls reruns I want while daydreaming of being transplanted to Stars Hollow (despite the fact that the show hasn’t been in production for years, which, if transplanted, would make me the only one on the movie set).

With those things going for me, I may never want to get a real job.