Tired. Exhausted. Busy. Happy. The life of a working mother is no joke. Literally every minute, no wait second of my day is used up.   From the moment I wake up in the early hours tending to my children getting them dressed for the day to the moment I finally get to sit down and relax and finally check emails, write a blog, or {maybe} watch Netflix, every second in between is used, valued, and pushed to the maximum capacity.   When you are a working mom, you will always feel guilty kissing your little one and leaving them to head out to your job. You’re most likely running late, not a dressed up as you’d like to be, and have an extra large cup of coffee in your hand.   I don’t sacrifice a second extra away from my family so once I step foot at work I am moving a mile a minute to get everything done.  

                 Once I pull into work I park my car, grab my coffee to go, and the moment my foot hits the pavement I am darting around trying to get the millions of tasks accomplished.   When I am at work I never. stop. moving.  I am constantly multi-tasking trying to keep from the feeling of drowning in work.  The moments where I do get a break I am sitting at my desk, alone in the dark, listening to the endless wonk wonk wonk of my breastpump.  I don’t have time to hang with coworkers or have long chats about daily life, because every second I am doing something for work trying to get my ‘to-do’ list crossed off.   Then like a flash, I have to lock myself in a cold, dark room and start pumping then storing milk. The challenges of a breastfeeding, working mom are endless.  There is no “hanging out with other adults” during my day.  Its work, grade, teach, eat lunch alone while pumping, try to tune out the negatively and absorb the positivity-if you’re going to be away from your family it better be worth it.

            I used to go back in forth with the argument of what’s more difficult: the working mom or the stay at home mom.   I am lucky in my career since I am a teacher that I get to experience both sides of motherhood.   I am the August-May working mom who tries to get the laundry all washed, folded, and put away on a Sunday. The working mom who misses her kids terribly, loves her job at the same time, and still tries to get dinner on the table at a decent hour. The mom who is so dang tired from working all day, but then suddenly those little arm wrap around you and you get a second burst of energy.   It is so hard to be a working mom. How do people keep their house together???? I find it impossible as there are always dirty dishes or bottles in my sink. {Veteran working moms please share your secrets with me.} The positive note of being a working mom is every second and moment you have with your children it is cherished.   Its amazing! I try to do as many fun activities with my children as possible.  We never have “just another Saturday,” its always spent spoiling my little ones with activities because the mom guilt of being away from them during the week is unreal.

            Being a working mother I find it extremely hard to take care of myself.   I don’t want to spend any more time away from my children so getting my nails done, hair cut, going to the doctor, or even grabbing lunch with an old friend makes my heart sink.   I am sadly watching myself ‘go’ as I have no time for the gym, get my nails done, or even curl my hair.   At this point in my life, I am so busy {and exhausted} I am lucky if both legs get shaved in the shower.   Taking a day off of work to go to the doctor doesn’t happen-if I am taking a day off from my job it is to spend with my children.   Usually nap time is ‘rest time’ for moms-you count down the hours until the beloved nap time.   But for me on my cherished weekends, nap time for a working mom means running around like a manic. You have two hours {if you’re lucky} to get about 10 hours worth of children free errands in.

            The times I am on summer vacation I am the stay at home mom. The pressure of getting the laundry done goes out the window, I have all day Monday or maybe even Tuesday to fold and put those clothes away right? Making dinner is no longer a chore, it’s a time to be away from your children in a much needed adult break.  You can get more done with your day during nap time than the whole day.   Going on walks in the middle of the day is for entertainment rather than exercise. Trips to the grocery store and Target are much easier on a random Thursday afternoon than on a busy weekend.   But HOW do you keep your little ones entertained 24/7? That’s lots of activities, crafts, and imaginary dinosaurs to pretend to be.   Good luck putting on make up too, why get ready if you’re not leaving the house and going to get apple sauce chucked at you anyways? Then finally, the second your husband walks in the door from work you’re lucky if you can actually pee alone.   When you are a stay at home mother you never get a day off or a break.

            The working mom is harder, no the stay at home mom is harder…lets just face it they are BOTH hard! Motherhood is such a difficult and challenging journey. You no longer have just yourself to think about. Looking back at who I used to be in college and my early twenties, I had no one else to worry about but myself and I thought I was “tired” or “busy.”  Girlllll what were you thinking? As a mom, you maybe tired. exhausted. busy. but most of all you are HAPPY.  I wouldn’t change being a mom for anything-whether your working or staying at home we all share the same common goal to raise good people and we all have the same love for these little people.

Until Next Time…..

XOXO

Your Redlocks and Shamrocks Girl,

Lisa Doyle

***All of the photos for this blog post were taken at Symphony Park next to the Discovery Children’s Museum.   Get your Pogo Pass using code “REDLOCKS” for 60% off admission to this venture and several others around the Las Vegas area! For my original post of this pass, Read here