Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Stresses of a working mother

So, I wanted to piggyback off of my post yesterday so that my working parent friends understand that I know how stressful it is to be a working parent and don't feel as though I was saying that being a SAHM is harder than being a working mother by any means. What I meant was that there can be more stress involved with being at home, albeit different. Here's what we contended with that we no longer have to worry about now that I'm home:

1. Alex getting sick constantly and having to take time off during a time when taking vacation days was not a luxury I could afford (we had a sickly daycare kid and now he has asthma.)

2. It was sooo hard to get quality alone time with the hubby. We were so busy catching up on time missed with Alex that we definitely put our marriage second.

3. The hustle and bustle of working life (commuting, fitting grocery shopping, laundry, housekeeping into the limited time at home, etc.) 

I'm thankful to be at home with both of my boys but the gratitude quickly gets murky while I'm trying to maintain my patience, teach my children right from wrong, keep the peace between the boys, work on preschool activities with Alex, cooking meals, cleaning up, doing laundry, taking the boys out to get exercise and interact with other children, and the list goes on and on. 

I was a much happier and more patient mother to be around when I was working I guess because I felt like I was contributing financially to my family while doing something I loved and knowing that Alex was getting to interact with other children all day in an environment that was encouraging him to be a big boy. Anyway, I'm sure everybody has their own idea of stress and being a mother but like I said in my last post, being a parent is a stressful thing.

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