i’m a working mom.
this is not meant to be debated, because there are some of you who will judge me. and some of you who will relate to me. it’s just a fact. i’m a mom. and i work. with this life situation comes both positives and negatives, as any life situation does, i imagine.
besides the obvious – not enough time with the kids, working all day leaves me with not enough time for my friends. when i was at home – even though i had two kids – i would shlep them out for coffee or frozen yogurt or to walk around the mall, just to get a little bit of friend time in. when you work all day, and spend your weekends running around trying to get everything done in addition to having your good quality family time, time with your friends falls short. there just isn’t the time.
so, it was great when Jen, of this here urbanmoms fame, emailed to see if we could do lunch this week. lunch? in the middle of the day? with my friends from outside of my office? there was no question that i was going. because it’s things like this that i miss so much.
(photo lifted from Kath…will replace with my own once it’s uploaded *grins*)
it did, of course, mean that i had to work a little bit later yesterday. and it meant that i had to race back to the office to make it for a meeting (that got cancelled…bah). but it was entirely worth it.
i totally miss this. and you know what i don’t miss? trying to deal with kids in these places. poor Haley-o. at least her little monkey is super well behaved (even if she didn’t want to make the "o" face…) I remember the days of dragging them out, one had a dirty diaper and i had to take both kids into the bathroom with me to change the one. the food was wrong. the drink was wrong. the kids were tired and cranky. chances were good that i’d forgotten something – a bottle, a paci, a sippy cup, a bib, diapers, wipes. ah…the good old days… 🙂
It’s so great that you gals get along so well and can get some girls-only time together smack dab in the middle of the day. I admire you Ali – I’ve been a SAHM for just over 2.5 years now and am contemplating doing work stuff soon, but it is hard to imagine giving up that “middle of the day, get me out of here” time. And I’ve only got 2 kids!
The lunch date is a wonderful thing….don’t get many these days being a SAHM, but the last two Fridays with my kids now both in daycare all day, I’ve been out for a lunch date with my husband and this week with my sister and friend. Summer lunch dates are even better when you get to sit on the sidewalk patio and watch the world go by together!
I LOVE my GNOs (check it: http://urbanmoms.typepad.com/girls_night/ ) and I always have a blast with you guys! Oh, btw, The Monkey did the “o” face but it was just for me 😉
I got lucky yesterday — the monkey was in RARE FORM! 😉 She only screeched, what, twice?? 😉 It was SO MUCH fun getting out with the girls. And, I loved sharing the monkey with everyone. Especially when she’s in good form!
There are definitely pros and cons to both the sahm and wahm lifestyles. What it comes down to is what’s best for you. Because what’s best for you is what’s best for your kids. And, you, ALI, are an ADMIRABLE, INSPIRATIONAL working mom! 🙂
What a great idea! I have to admit I’m big on the lunch date. It’s hard for me to see some friends who live a long way away when weekends are family time. But, since we all work downtown we end up meeting for lunch. It’s great.
(and ironically, I just checked your blog as I was killing some time waiting for a lunch date with other friends).
It’s what keeps me sane.