Morning convo with the little one:
Little person: Hey Mom, do you think you will be able to make the event next Tuesday at school?
Me: [Thinking: I have a mandatory training at work, crap] Ummm, I don't think I can, baby...
Little person: Wow, Mom... wow!
I have a ton of friends who are moms (both working and non-working moms), who I happen to think are the greatest people in the world. Moms just rock!!!!
But I feel the need to encourage a special group of moms today.
To the working mom who isn't able to be at every school event or every volunteering opportunity, here is a shoutout to you, my dear, because I know too well some of the things you deal with.
1. Shoutout to the mom who has to fight with traffic every day to head to an office where she's not even respected -- and still has to be Mom when those eight hours are up.
2. Shoutout to the mom who has to miss important meetings at work just to ensure she chaperones the trip to the zoo (for the 18th time).
3. Shoutout to the mom who has to decline a promotion because it means she would have no flexibility as it relates to being there for her kids.
4. Shoutout to the mom who is able to make dinner, help with homework, do laundry, and even encourage her child even though she received low scores on her evaluation today at work.
5. Shoutout to the mom who has to bring her kids to the before-school program at 6 a.m., just so she can make it to work, put in eight hours and head back to pick them up before school gets out.
6. Shoutout to the mom who feels guilty about not being at the school assembly. "But Mom, Brandon's mom was there..." (That mom is thinking: But who's your mom?? Exactly, kiddo!)
7. Shoutout to the mom who gets a call that her child is sick (within an hour of arriving at work), after it took two hours to get to work due to an accident on the interstate.
8. Shoutout to the mom whose only desire on the weekend is to catch a breath and not meet up for playdates.
9. Shoutout to the mom who is a counselor, dancer, singer, trash collector, teacher, best friend, back scratcher, drill instructor, gymnastics teacher, and whatever else her kid decides she needs to be for that day.
10. Shoutout to the mom who has to go inside the bathroom just to have "me time" after a long day at work.
And...
11. Shoutout to the mom who gets the cold shoulder from the non-working moms when she finally gets a moment to actually volunteer at the school. Hey, I thought we were ALL in this together?!?!
Most of the moms I know do whatever it takes to ensure their kids have smiles on their faces. They also do a lot of background work that nobody ever gets to see. But as a fellow working mom, I take my hat off to you. YOU'RE VALUED!
It takes some strong coffee (or tea), and humility, to name a few things, to do what you do every day.
So THANK YOU!