The Pressures (or not?) of a Working Mom

6:45: Alarm goes off and Kevin gets in shower. Lay there, frowning and hating the world.

7:15-7:30: Shower and dress while Kevin feeds Elizabeth, packs his lunch, fills my travel mug with coffee, brings me a slice of peanut butter toast and a glass of milk, and helps me put on underwear, pants, and socks. (Admit it ladies, you're jealous of my pregnancy helplessness.)

7:30-8:00: Continue to get ready alone, because Kevin is now Elizabeth's personal chauffeur to Grandma's house. (Ha ha.) Make-up, hair, pack lunch, check e-mail.

8:00-8:20: Drive to work in peace.

8:30-12:00: Work. Or rather, work some, goof off online, stare into space, count how many days of work are left on calander...you get the idea.

12:00-12:30: Eat lunch alone at desk because work is in middle of cow pasture and there is no where to go. Also? Co-workers are 4 old men who never leave their offices.

12:30-4:30: Work in silence. No one even plays a radio. All I hear are keyboards clicking and the server humming white noise. Pray for death.

4:30-4:45: Drive home in peace. (Kevin gets to pick up Elizabeth, too! Ha ha.)

4:45-5:15: Lay on couch OR start dinner. (Depending.)

5:15: Elizabeth and Kevin come home.

5:30-6:00: Dinner, clean up kitchen, load dishwasher.

6:00-7:15: Family time. (Watch movie, play games, talk, run to store, etc.)

7:15-7:30: Elizabeth's bath time.

7:30-bedtime: Watch movies with Kevin in bed because I'm too exhausted to do anything else. Fall asleep ridiculously early.

Exciting, no?

Why am I sharing all of this with you? I read a post over at Vintage 30 that got me thinking: How much leisure time do we moms have? And, even better, do we act like we have a harder life than we really do?

Before I have to duck and run from all the venom-filled comments hurled my way, I want to stand up and say: "My name is Jaci and I am a pregnant working mom. Guess what? I HAVE IT PRETTY DAMN EASY."

I could climb up on my Sacrifical Motherhood Soapbox and swear to everyone that my days are stressful and exhausting and I couldn't possibly fit anything else in--but why lie? I'm not slaving in a coal-dust-filled electrical plant for 16 hour shifts like my Dad did. I'm on my butt in an ergonomic office chair. I'm not spending the afternoon over an oven cooked dinner like Grandma did. I walk in the door and flip off the crock pot or rip open a frozen skillet meal. I don't even have to pull out the mop and bucket like Mom did--I have a Swiffer Wet Jet and Clorox Wipes!

Beyond modern inventions to make chores easier, the basic duties of motherhood haven't changed and never will change. Face it, we'll always have to wake the kids up and get them fed and dressed and ready for school (and we get to do it without worrying that the baby will fall into the fire while our backs are turned).


We're always going to have to potty train a 2 year old...or read stories over and over to a 4 year old...or break up fights between siblings...or roll an 11 year old out of bed in the morning... We're always going to have to face the daily monotony of snack time, bathtime, tuck-in-time, and if-you-get-out-of-bed-one-more-time-I'm-spanking-you-time. All that crap? It's simply part of the Mommy job description.

My life was stressful this past spring, but that's because I was trying to do it all. I wanted my house to look like a page from Better Homes and Gardens, so I pushed myself to clean after work. I wanted to lose weight, so I pushed myself to work out from 8-9 pm every night. I wanted to impress my bosses, so I forced myself to go above and beyond on projects.

I was miserable and exhausted most of the time, but it wasn't because I was a working mom--I didn't have my priorities straight.

Now that I'm pregnant, a lot of things have changed. I'm not going to be at this job much longer...so "impressing management" isn't on my To-Do List. Workouts took a backseat to resting on the couch, and Better Homes and Gardens is just a magazine that sits on the back of my slightly hairy toilet lid. And you know what? I haven't missed any of it!

Yeah, I'm "lazing" on the couch--but I have really enjoyed playing Chutes and Ladders as a family and laughing at Elizabeth for totally freaking out when someone else wins. Sometimes I feel like a giant lard ass when it's 8 pm and in "normal life" I would be working out--but cuddling in bed has led to other kinds of exercise that sweating on an elliptical can't compare with.

As cheesy as it sounds, life comes in seasons. Right now? I'm focusing on becoming a mom--again--and all the challenges that are going to come with it. Whatever else I happen to accomplish along with way is just extra credit.

(I never have been the A+ student when A- still equals the same 4.0.)

This working mom? She could squeeze a few more things in if she had to. So what? She doesn't feel the least bit guilty about it.