One Last Mommy Bit
I know this has been The Week of the Mommy, but here’s one more bit to ponder and then I promise to be done. This article lays out nicely how difficult it is to find work-life balance. It’s important for melting down parents to read about how everyone else is having an out-of-control moment/day/week/life. Because when you haven’t slept and your whole day is one peanut butter, cream of wheat or fuse bead disaster after another and you’re wondering how it can be possible to work this hard and to be in such an extreme state of constant motion and still not manage to get anything accomplished in a day, it’s necessary to have solid evidence that other parents are grappling as desperately as you.
Seriously, how hard is it to take a damn shower? There’s water, soap, more water, a towel, done. Not so with children running amok. There is no sneaking off and showering while leaving tiny people unsupervised. Their food-in and food-out needs must be met; all food must then be removed from the table so no one chokes to death while the parental unit is showering; and then—the deep dark secret of parents who claim to loathe television and maintain a high volume of literature input in the house—the television must be turned on so the little hellions won’t harm themselves or the property during the 180 seconds that mommy is in the shower.
And still, still, even with full access to the television crack pipe that my children are whores for, 60 seconds into my frantic Speed Shower of Doom, someone is banging on the bathroom door demanding to know where their mommy is and when she will be returning. This moment has three possible outcomes: (1) I turn on the ceiling fan and drown out their cries (sort of); (2) I yell something no non-parent will ever imagine they will utter some day when they become parents: “Every mommy has the right to shower alone!” or “GO AWAY!” or “You’re making me insane!” or, when I’ve given up, “Whatever, dude. Cry all you want. It’ll just make me shower longer.” and (3) the dumb mommy unlocks the bathroom door and stupidly gives in and lets the two-year-old in to have a shower/bath too. This is immediately regretted when the six-year-old shows up and suddenly mommy is trying to get clean while standing calf-deep in what she’s pretty sure is a kiddie pee party.
Okay, done with the mommy theme. I refuse to become a mommy blogger. As far as I can tell, the blogging populations with the highest numbers are mommies and convention geeks.
Further work-life balance reading:
Strategies for Work Life Balance
50 Useful Blogs for Work-at-Home Dads
Downsizing for Work-Life Balance
Working Moms Need Not Feel Guilty
Opting in: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself
Avoiding the Mommy Track: Returning to a Career After Maternity Leave
Home Jobs for Moms: A Guide to Choosing the Right Opportunity for Stay at Home Mothers
A Stay-At-Home Mom Re-Enters the Workforce: A Chance at a Second Career
Stay at Home Mom and Work at Home Mom
Posted by Alexa Harrington
