CONFESSION: I’M A WORKING MOM, AND SOMETIMES, I LOOK FORWARD TO MONDAYS
IT’S OK IF YOU ARE A WORKING MOM WHO LOOKS FORWARD TO MONDAYS
I’m a working mom. And, if I’m honest; sometimes I look forward to Mondays. Turns out, I’m not alone. Between mom burnout and mom guilt, sometimes, a return to the office is just what moms need.
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LAUNDRY, SCREAMING, AND MISSED CALLS
On a Friday off, I spent the morning sorting, washing, folding, and organizing laundry. My potty training two-year-old was screaming at me from the bathroom about a poop situation.
Between carting baskets of laundry around the house and replacing a toddler on the toilet, I missed the phone calls.
I missed 4 phone calls to be exact. 3 from the school and one from my office after the school called my office looking for me.
One of my children had become very ill at school and immediate parent intervention was necessary. When I finally recovered my phone from where I had left it nearly an hour earlier, I saw the phone calls, the voicemails, and the strange messages.
My toddler, still screaming, was forced into a seat and we disembarked to collect my sick child.
I spent the rest of the afternoon tending to a sick child, hauling the rest of the laundry, and being screamed at by an unstable toddler.
The weekend held practices, bedtimes, fighting, some laughing, and more sick kids.
MONDAY MORNING REPRIEVE
On Monday morning, I fought the usual early-morning battles before school. I dropped my kids off at school and the babysitter’s.
My next stop was a coffee shop. Of course.
(To read more about my coffee obsession, click here.)
I walked into my office with my tall cup of steaming coffee and a pile of paperwork. I proceeded to sit in silence for the ensuing 8 hours, working.
It was near blissful. I even ate my homemade lunch at my desk. I barely spoke to another living soul.
No one stuck their fingers in my food.
No one screamed at me.
SOMETIMES I LOOK FORWARD TO MONDAYS
I love my children so much it hurts my heart. They are more wonderful than I could have ever imagined that they could be.
(To read more about how much you love your children, check this out.)
I have no desire to return to the person I was before children –that woman did not have nearly as much fun.
My children make me smile; they make me think, and they open up entirely new worlds, possibilities, and adventures to me.
However, my children just sometimes make me exhausted.
Sometimes, I want to sit in a make-shift office where no one asks me to tie shoes or comb hair or break up a fight.
On more than one Monday since I became a working mommy, I have settled into my chair and exhaled a sigh of relief.
And, that’s ok.
In fact, it turns out that I am not alone.
Loads of working moms are looking forward to Monday! In fact that’s the premise of this book:
But, why, if I love being with my children so much, do I actually enjoy the stress of work sometimes?
WORK MAKES ME STOP DOING IT ALL
Millions of women across the country are burning out. They are overwhelmed, pressured, and wracked with mom guilt.
(To read more about how to stop being an exhausted working mom, click here)
And it’s because they are doing it all –work, virtual schooling, cooking, cleaning, planning, entertaining, … the list goes on…
But the beautiful thing about work is that you can’t tend to your clients and your children at the same time. In other words, you are forced to put something down.
Now doesn’t that feel good, mama. Doesn’t it feel good to put down one of those spinning plates and rest your shoulders for a moment.
Sure, you will pick it back up after your shift, but it’s ok to let some of those pressures go.
Honestly, sometimes I find peace in putting my head to a project and blocking out the rest of the world.
And that’s ok!
BEING A WORKING MOM MAY GIVE YOU VALUE
Although I am no stranger to the deep pangs of Sunday night back-to-work dread, I can find value and even rest in my 9-5.
While you, of course, miss your children deeply during the day while you work and you fight heaps of mom guilt, you might be able to admit that you too are a mother who not only needs but even wants to work.
(To read more about how I failed as a SAHM, click here)
You might work for the paycheck, for the career, for the accolades, for expectations, or even as an example for your children. But, whatever the reason, it’s ok if you find that sometimes it is even easier than being a mom.
Being a working mommy is hard. It requires sacrifice, balance, and hard work.
You will miss events; you will miss deadlines; your children will get sick, and you will feel your head torn into a million different directions.
(To read more about the hard truth of being a working mommy, click here.)
However, it’s ok if you actually like to work. Or, even if you don’t like work, it’s ok if you need some time to get away.
WORKING MOMS GET TO MISS THEIR CHILDREN
The honest reality of being a working mommy is that sometimes I get the added bonus of missing my children.
Being a full-time caregiver means that you are never off. You never have the chance to clock out, to switch shifts, to take a sick day, or even to just slack off.
Food has to be made, noses need wiped, and errands need run.
Working moms, on the other hand, have to shift gears. Working might create mental space and an opportunity for moms to find something that fulfills them in a different way. Further, it creates the unique opportunity to MISS YOUR CHILDREN.
When my screaming toddler doesn’t slobber on me all day, it’s all I can do to keep from squeezing all the air out of him when I get home.
Because I don’t get to spend many quiet afternoons with my older children, I relish a sick day on the couch snuggling under the blankets.
And, since my hours sometimes run right up to and through dinner time, I sometimes skip meal prep altogether and opt for takeout!
I love my children and miss them dearly while I am at work. Therefore, I am more mindful of the moments and adventures that I get to spend with them. I obsess less on the details.
THE HIDDEN BENEFITS OF BEING A WORKING MOM
I wish that I was made of the stuff that stay at home moms are made of.
However, sometimes I gladly close the house door against loads of laundry, a pile of dishes, and screaming toddlers in the name of work.
Sometimes I show up to my office on Monday morning and just sit in silence with a fresh hot coffee in my hands.
While I might have been wracked with guilt about that at some point in my earlier motherhood journey, now I know…it’s ok.
It’s ok that you might need some mental space in your life.
It’s ok that you might need a chance to miss your children.
It’s ok if you enjoy the challenge and struggle of your workday.
It’s even ok if you enjoy your coworkers, paycheck, or Mondays.
I’m a working mom who adores her children and her family, and sometimes, I look forward to Mondays.
Create the mental space, foster an opportunity to miss your children, find a break over a pile of paperwork and a cup of coffee. You are a hard working mommy, and it is ok to sometimes look forward to the peace of Mondays.
