One Secret to a Working Mom's Success: Keep Standing

Me, standing in Barbados Those of us who live our lives out loud on the internet subject ourselves to scrutiny. Some comment, "Nobody's life is perfect. These posts must be fake," Those making those comments might even be close to us because they "know our business" and they whisper and gossip and say, "she's so fake".  To those who may read my blog and make such comments, (the trolls) know that I hear you, see you, and completely disagree. 

A Peek Into the Life of a Working Mom: What I Want for Mother’s Day

“Working mothers' laughter comes hardest when our double life is revealed for what it is: a juggling act in which the balls can drop at any time, invariably on our own head.” -Allison Pearson

  Recently there has been more attention about the demands that working moms confront.  Indeed, in increasingly more homes we are the primary breadwinner and also do the majority of the housework.  That means that we are long on obligations and short on time.  I’ll save my discussion about gender equity and justice for another post. Instead, I’ll focus on the end result.  We simply have less time for ourselves, which is unfortunate. However, the real travesty is that we have less time for our children.  While it is true that fathers should do more, the reality is we often don’t want them to.  Out of all of the things that I have to do, the time with my children is the most enjoyable.  The only time that seems like “work” is when I am exhausted from doing everything else.

Most working Moms Want More Time


A recent article on Today Moms makes a similar point. It makes the argument that working moms really crave more time this Mother’s Day as opposed to chocolate, flowers, or a blender. http://www.today.com/moms/what-working-moms-really-want-mothers-day-hint-not-chocolate-2D79619311. When working moms choose to prioritize their kids it comes at a price.  My Twitter handle indicates that I am “struggling to keep my house clean”. It’s not merely a catchy tagline.  It is the stone cold truth.  Indeed, the article says “for many moms, the cost of prioritizing time with the kids and time at work comes in the form of a messy house…” For us, messy is the new normal.


 I am on maternity leave right now. So, I have had the privilege of spending time with my newborn son. (My maternity leave has been interrupted by trying to sell our house, but that’s a topic for another post…) During my normal workweek though, time is a rare commodity. My days are full of meetings, memos and more mandatory tasks that only I can do.  I would give my right arm for someone to complete those mundane yet mandatory tasks that anybody can do.

You Can’t Create Time, but You Can Give It


Those tasks fall into two main buckets—housework and errands.  They are things like laundry, the dishes, mopping the floors and grocery shopping.  There is honor in all work and I take a certain pride in doing those tasks for my family. However, I would be eternally grateful if somebody relieved me of those tasks gave me a helper to do those tasks for a day or a week.

How can you give time if you cannot create time? Do housework or run errands for a mom so she can spend uninterrupted time with her kids or rest so she can approach the week recharged. Yes, what I am suggesting is time intensive. However, it will be time well spent if you would like to give the perfect gift and show your favorite mom that she’s appreciated. 

That being said, on behalf of my working mom sisters though, if you can’t give time feel free to give really large diamonds. I don’t know any mom who would turn those down (including me)!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!   
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