So I'm not that good at titles...shoot me.
I am a working mom.
I wanted that statement to stand alone so everyone has the opportunity to think about what that means...which thus far, is a matter of opinion. Now, I am going to tell you what it really means.
Being a working mommy means that I rarely stop. I get up before the rest of the house and most nights I go to sleep after everyone else. It means that from 8AM-5PM I am expected to act like I am not a mother and from 5PM-8AM, I do my best to act like I don't have responsibilities hanging over my head from work. Being a working mom means that I don't get to see my child's teachers, because we chose a good school over a convenient location, so Daddy drops him off and Grandparents pick him up so, at best, I get the translated version of how my baby is progressing. Being a working mom means that I snap at my husband way to often for not doing his part, when in reality, he does more than other men by leaps and bounds. It means that I resent my stay at home friends, but know that I am a better mommy because I work...that is not to say I am better than them, but that I am a better mommy than I would be if I stayed home...but I still want to stay home.
It also means that I worry...I worry exponentially more than I did before. I worry about all the normal things, will he out live me, when will we have our first broken bone, did we lock the front door/baby gate/fence/freezer/toilet/etc, is the breathing (I still check at least twice a night), the list goes on forever. But, I also have to worry about how he is cared for while I am working...this is particularly cumbersome when he's sick.
Today, my baby might have pink eye, I am not there listening to either A) the soothing words of an MD telling me it's nothing, or B)the specific directions the MD is giving regarding how to handle pink eye (again, I rely on translation). No, today I am sitting at my desk waiting on a conference call, because I am a working mommy.
But at 5 O'clock I will change hats and love and care for my angel in every way possible until the cows come home...or until my alarm goes off tomorrow morning when I start the whole process over and I have to trust someone else to care for him while I work for his future.
...and in between all of these things, I might do laundry, feed the dogs, make a bed, clean the dishes...
