There are both positives and negatives to being a working mom. You get to reap the benefits of having children and a career, but you’re also pulled in more directions than other parents out there. You’re not alone in the struggle. There are millions of moms everywhere in the world trying to find the same balance you are…
Here are a few things only working moms will understand…
You Check Your Email While in Labor
This one you may not want to admit to: You know you’re a working mom when you sneak a glimpse at your phone to check your email during labor. Just because there’s another human pushing his/her way out of you, doesn’t mean that the world stops turning. (Don’t worry – you’ll find out soon enough in those first couple of weeks that it really does, or at least should).
All Your Vacation is Used on Sick Days
Remember those benefits that attracted you to the job in the first place? Three weeks of paid vacation? Well, it’s dwindled down to one week now, thanks to your 3-year-old who is constantly picking up the germs from his daycare buddy. Maybe one day you’ll actually get to use vacation for vacation…
Conference Calls Revolve Around Nap Time
Moms who work from home always need people to think they’re in an office, and a crying baby doesn’t exactly scream that you’re sitting in a cubicle under flourescents. Conference calls must be scheduled promptly at 10am or 2pm, and cannot, under any circumstances, extend beyond an hour.
You Eat PB&J for Lunch Everyday
You’d love a salad from the company’s four star ground floor cafeteria, but you already packed lunches for the kids last night, and making yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is simply efficient and cheap – two high priorities for you these days.
You Treasure Your Bathroom Breaks at Work
Bathroom breaks at work – you either go alone, or walk over with a friend with some pleasant conversation. Both scenarios involve a completely closed door and sufficient amount of privacy. At home? You may or may not have a child at your feet, on your lap, or wailing just outside of the open door. Kidless coworkers view their bladders as a disruptive annoyance… You view yours as a reminder to relax and enjoy some privacy.
Your Life is Dominated by Lists
You have a list for literally everything. Your morning list consists of what you need to do to get out the door; your work lists consists of what needs to get done throughout your work day. You have a grocery list for after work; and you have a chore list for the evening. You’ve also been known to hand lists out to your children and spouse as well. Otherwise? Nothing gets done. Ever.
Your Calendar Has Everything Penciled In
You wouldn’t want anyone at work to see your calendar because it’s slightly embarrassing. You have everything pencilled in, from personal reminders to work meetings, from play dates to doctors appointments, even intimate time with your spouse. If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t happen. It is what it is, might as well get used to it.
Happy Hour Consists of Homework, not Martinis
Before kids, you enjoyed happy hour with coworkers at the bar next to the office building that you work in. It was every Friday around 4:30pm, and you looked forward to it. Now? You may treat yourself to a glass of wine while you wrangle kids for homework before dinner. You may get halfway through the glass before giving up on it all together.
Needless to say, working mom… you live a busy, busy life, and you are tired. Nevertheless, you’re fully aware of how blessed you are to work to “jobs” that you love.
What do you think are the hardest parts about being a working mom?
