Why I Admire Working Moms

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel I’ve been a mom long enough to say that there is a small rift between mothers. The working kind. The kind that says, “You’re a stay at home mom, so you don’t do anything all day,” or the kind that says, “You willingly leave your children all day to go to work.” I know this rift isn’t there for all women, but I know that it’s there in some places. That’s why I’m here to say today that, as a stay-at-home mom, I admire you. The working moms. Here’s why:

1. Sometimes you don’t want to work, but you just don’t have a choice. This might be because your husband lost his job or because you’re a single mom (or any number of other reasons). But just because you drag yourself to work every day doesn’t mean you want to. You probably cried the first day you dropped your child off at daycare, and you miss them greatly every day, but in order for them to survive, you have to work and you’ll do anything to make sure they have what they need. If that means someone else is caring for them in the meantime, that’s okay.
2. And if you do want to work, it takes courage to pursue your interests. If you truly love what you’re doing and if you love to work–that’s awesome! More power to you! It’s important to pursue the things that are important to you, and if it is important for you to feel successful at work or to be part of a team at your office, then you should pursue that. If you truly love going to work every day, your kids come home to a happy mom, and that’s important! There are times where being at work can be a struggle, whether it is to do with how you feel or just the job itself, but there are ways of making it a little easier. For example, as technology continues to develop, the idea of working from home when you work in sales or any job that requires you to use the phone may be made a lot easier with solutions similar to hosted pbx servers. There is pretty much a way around anything. You know what else makes me happy is when I have ordered some new office equipment. This certainly allows me to be more productive throughout the day. I only reward myself with supplies though from companies such as Office Monster, if I know I have worked hard enough to reach my goals. This just enables me to work harder and achieve more. Being a stay at home mom isn’t at all bad, you just need to find what works for you and what you can do to make this enjoyable and a good compromise for the kids and yourself.
   So, if you need to take your kids to the nursery, rely on other family members or your husband to look after them, get an au pair (go to Cultural Care Au Pair to find out more about au pairs) to help your kids or whatever it is that lets you work then go for it. Some families might go for nannies to look after their children instead of an au pair, they are not sure, especially if they don’t think there is a difference between the two, which there is! Have a look at au pair vs nanny to see what the differences are and how you could benefit from getting that help you need to keep working.
3. You juggle a lot! When I worked full time, it was so hard to keep up with everything! I just could not seem to remember spirit day or even come close to remembering what day my kids had gym class. Not to mention trying to get dinner on the table, clean the house, help with homework, and take kids to activities after a forty-hour work week. I failed miserably, so I just don’t know how you do it!
4. You make sacrifices for your kids. Regardless of what you want, the majority of the time you have to make sacrifices at work for what’s best for your kids. Sometimes you’ll have to take a sick day to stay home with a sick child. Sometimes you’ll take personal time for the parent-teacher conference. And sometimes the co-workers who don’t have kids will try to make you feel guilty for doing so. Don’t let them! Making the sacrifices here and there for your kids shows them that they are more important than your job and that you love them. It’s difficult to make those sacrifices and you make them in ways difficult for some stay-at-home moms to understand.
5. Regardless of your occupation, you still love your kids fiercely. Whether you have your kids in daycare or they spend the day with grandma, whether you are forced to work or love to work, you still love your kids the same as any other mom loves her kids. We all live in different circumstances, our children are never the same, and what works for one mom won’t work for another. Nowadays there are more day care opportunities than ever before, so it is much easier to find a center that meets the needs of you and your family. Ultimately, what really matters is that you do what’s best for your kids. And your love is what helps them grow into healthy, young adults–not whether you remember spirit day or not.

What do you admire about working moms? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments.