Today is National Working Parents Day, a day to pay tribute to parents who work to provide for their family. While I always thought I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, it turns out that returning to work part time after baby makes me happier, healthier, and a better mom during the time I do spend with my son. Going to work allows me to exercise my brain, connect with other people, and feel productive, which are all important pieces of my identity that I missed while on maternity leave. Returning to work was the right decision for me because each day it helps me to feel more like my “old self,” and afterwards, I’m refreshed and ready to be my “mom self” again.
So while some of us are working parents by necessity (‘cause bills), and others are working parents by choice, I think we can all appreciate these 9 women who share a glimpse into their own experiences as working parents, speaking the truth about heading back to work after kids. Let them remind you that the highs and lows of being a working parent are normal, and that you are most definitely not alone on this journey.
“Every moment with this girl is something I try to cherish. It can be something as simple as a trip to the grocery store. She is my WHY. The reason why I work so hard every day. The reason why I still work my fitness business after putting her to bed at night. . . Currently sitting here at work wishing I was at home playing and reading books with her.”
“ . . . this photo captures what life is like being a working mom with littles. Rushing to get ready for work and get the kids ready for daycare while trying to be somewhat on time and look somewhat presentable. All while the baby is playing with tampons, tearing apart the jewelry cabinet [but] . . . I’m so happy to have this photo. Someday when they have moved on from needing to be within two feet of their mom, I’m sure I will look at this with a very full heart. A heart that will wish I would have slowed down to enjoy these moments of chaos more.”
“She asked me to take a picture of her “working.” We took smiling pictures and then she wanted pictures of her looking at paperwork and pretending to type. We think they don’t pay attention in the midst of them on play dates, watching YouTube, and crying at stores for toys… but our children are watching.”
“In that zombified mode where you’ve been rushing work past midnight for the last few nights and your kid is having a growth spurt, is clingy and grumpy, so hard to put to bed, and wakes up in the middle of the night. So, at breakfast you give her snacks, turn on wiggles and stare mindlessly at your phone because your brain was so stressed and busy piecing together PowerPoint slides and converting texts into icons in your dreams. . . So, let’s imagine we’re back to floating in the pool and chilling instead of being exhausted and wiped out.”
“Do you have kids?” someone asked me at an education fair in Colorado last week. I said yes, I have a three-year-old. “Oh!” she looked at me surprised. “Who watches your child when you’re gone and travel for work?” . . . Fact is, I don’t get these kinds of questions from my male colleagues. I get these kinds of questions from other women! Another female colleague asked me the same thing today. TBH that scares me because they are going to raise little girls and instill this mindset into the next generation. So, Mommy can’t leave for a couple of days for work?! It doesn’t even come to their mind that maybe my child has a father, too? A Dad who is very much involved and capable of parenting on his own for a couple of days, who also loves his child and who respects and supports me having my own career?!”
“I along with my husband own and operate a first-generation farm . . . I am a #bosslady, go-getter, don’t give up, and prove every day to my children that hard work ethic will earn you more respect than most anything else. Misunderstood by some because of my willingness to work in a male-dominated industry. I just hold up my glass (that may have coffee or my favorite whiskey in it) and wink at them.”
“Most social media posts present polished final products (while the real life BTS remains unseen). Well, here is true, BTS mom-life at its finest–at the salon getting my hair done with a kiddo in my lap who is spilling crackers all over the place (crackers some sweet person gave us from her purse).”
“I know this might sound crazy, and I am so grateful for the time I have with my family – BUT as a #workingmama, sometimes I look forward to the mornings I go into work. Because, on the days I go into clinic, I get real bathroom breaks without little hands under the door, feel productive (I can get more than half a thing done!), and lastly, at work I actually feel like I know what I’m doing.”
“First day of school (for me) 2019, and one of us is very excited for the year that lies ahead. Today I start a new job at a university an hour away from home, and the kids are commuting with me so they can spend the day with Gram and Gramps and Mimi and Papa who also live there. It’s not ideal to travel with them, but it’s a brilliant opportunity, and it’s only one day a week as I was miraculously able to schedule all eleven of my voice students for the same day. So, cheers to marathon teaching days, a year of making beautiful music, and two precious children who are the most super of troopers.”
“My best friend. Yesterday was the most time I had spent away from my baby since he was born. And man was it hard. I kept feeling like a part of me was missing. Here’s to a new challenge of being a #WorkingMom.”
Kirsten Clark is a teacher, mom, wife, reader, podcast junkie and sometimes writer. She lives with her family in Alberta, Canada on Treaty 8 Territory.
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