"Work/life balance."
"Have it all."
"The best of both worlds."
"Working mom."
What a load of crock.
Sorry.
It has been a rough week.
But honestly, are there any mom's in the world who are happy with this new "normal"? Get up early to get just a few minutes of quiet. Rush to get the kids clean, dressed, fed, and out the door. Oh, and they should probably be happy. Yeah. That's important.
Sit at a desk all day, working for a paycheck.
Go home, exhausted. Figure out what's for dinner. Play with the kids. Try to stay engaged and upbeat (at least until bedtime). Clean up after dinner. Make sure everybody has clean clothes for the morning. Take the dog for a walk. Maintain a decent conversational flow with the husband. Try to stay awake past 9pm. Have s*x (even if you're exhausted, because it's what good wives do). Close your eyes and then remember - forgot to let the dog out one last time. Get up, let the dog out. Check email, just in case. Fight the dog as she goes back in her crate. Crash into bed. Realize it's midnight, and you will only be getting 5 hours of sleep tonight.
Start it all over again the next morning.
Really?
This is the dream?
This is "having it all"?
REALLY???!
Okay, in all fairness, I have it easy for a "working mom."
My office pays a nanny to watch the kids right down the hall from me. I get to see them whenever I want.
I have two beautiful, healthy, well-adjusted little girls who are (mostly) easy to parent.
Sweet Hubby does more than most men I know for the home and family. (I can't even remember the last time I had to wash dishes or do laundry.) Plus, since he's a teacher, he comes and gets the girls from work 2-3 days a week in the summer.
My job is from 8:30-4:30, with very flexible paid time off.
Our dog has a nice big back yard she can run around in (and burn off some energy).
But even more than that...
I have clean water to drink and bathe in.
I sleep in air conditioned comfort.
I have healthcare and doctors who are well trained.
I have food in my pantry.
I have a bed.
I have a roof.
I have a family who loves me.
I have friends who support me.
I realize. I do. That there is so much to be grateful for.
But I'm spent.
Every last penny of energy, ability, willingness - spent.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
