Being a Working Parent is HARD!!!!

For years, stay at home moms and working moms have bantered about who really works harder. Is it the stay at home mom who is with her children every moment of the day or is it the mom who works 8 hrs and then comes home to work another 6 hours? I have been on both sides of the fence, although the staying at home part was only for a year. I can tell you that they are both difficult at times and tonight was one of those nights where I was harshly punished for being a working mother. How? As I tucked my six year old in, she was crying because she wants to spend more time with me. Ahhhh, the guilt of a working mother  never goes away. Its the guilt that just keeps giving.

I'm sure most working mothers would agree that we as parents find it difficult to say no at times, buy more toys than we should, and maybe even put up with a little more than the average mom. We do these things largely out  of guilt;we do it to compensate for the lack of hours we spend  with them. On the same note,we spend more quality time with our kids because we know that we only have a few hours before its bedtime. We let the laundry, the dishes, and the floors wait, until after bedtime. We listen intently, laugh alot, and play, because we know this little window of time is valuable.

I don't regret my decision to have a career. I know that I am teaching my daughter that there is nothing wrong with being a strong independent woman. There is nothing wrong with having a career and a family, after all men do it all the time. There are three qualities a working mom must have: Great time management skills, ability to multi task with ease, and a TOUGH heart for moments like today! Its always heartbreaking when your child tells you that you're not the supermom you think you are.

So tonight, I reassure her that I love her WAY MORE than my career,way more than anything really. I promise fun times this weekend with no bedtime. I give her a kiss and hope that we wont have this heartbreaking talk again anytime soon.