It’s been almost 7 months
since I got out of the Navy and hung up my hat as a working mom. Back then I
struggled with the daily challenges of working outside the home and being away
from my daughter. I admit fully to suffering from bouts of mommy guilt. I wrote
a message to myself, a manifesto if you will, on being a strong working mother.
It helped empower me to look at my situation differently and I hope it
encouraged other mamas out there to do the same (feel free to read it here).
These days I have a better
perspective on not just the struggles of working as a mother but also what it
is like to stay at home as well. I find myself enjoying this experience
immensely but there are days I need to remind myself of a few important things
too.
1. You can only do so much.
There are 24 hours in a day and if you take out the time you spend sleeping,
caring for the kids and handling household chores, the number of hours you have
to work with kind of drops down. Write yourself a to-do list but know that it’s
okay if not everything gets done.
2. Don’t play the comparison game.
Seriously. Stop it. Don’t compare yourself to the imaginary SAHM who you
invented in your head that supposedly takes her toddler to baby classes 5 days
a week, runs a daily playgroup and has a pinterest-worthy home.
3. Make time for yourself.
Set aside a piece of your day, even if it’s a half an hour to indulge in your
own personal interests. Something completely unrelated to babies. Read a book
on wildlife, garden, do some yoga.
4. And lastly, live in the
moment.
Oh my, this sums up how I feel!! I drive myself insane if I play the comparison game, because I am a bit of a strange hippie ( sleep in late, unorganized, head in the clouds...) and everyone else I know has it together so well. I do find though that like you say in point 3, making time for oneself is integral. Especially during the early years because my daughter would freak out if I left the house for an hour or even a minute, but we worked out a way to distract here and I don't regret it.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I know exactly what you mean! I think it is especially true if you compare yourself to what you see on blogs or social media like FB. You only get to see what kind of image they want to project, you know?
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