But to be honest? Sometimes I’m jealous of moms who stay at home and don’t have work responsibilities. And I’m jealous of moms who put their kids in daycare and have the normal 9-to-5.
I know, I know. The grass is always greener. But I absolutely have my moments where I wish that the only things I had to worry about that day were laundry, meals, and parenting (because can we just be honest? That right there is more than enough!). Sometimes, that sounds like freedom to me.
And there are other days where I enviously eye my fellow friends who go to an office, where they do not have to play Mom AND Worker at the exact same time, who can compartmentalize their lives just a little bit more than I can, and who are not expected to volunteer, and bake those cookies, and host that event because it is obvious that their schedule just won’t allow it.
But obviously, being a WAHM is a choice I have made.
And like all choices, there’s good and bad. And while I have my moments where I wish for a different way of life, while I have moments where I get so frustrated by the way conflicting priorities pull at my attention, I also realize that my way of life is quite simply a privilege.
I get to extend breastfeeding my baby without ever having to take time at work without pay so I could pump.
I get to be the one who does school pick up and drop off, and attends their daytime events without using up vacation time and clearing it with the boss first.
I get to have the time to make home-cooked meals, and go grocery shopping at off-peak hours, and yes, even sneak in a mid-day nap with the baby every now and again.
I get to engage my thoughts in something other than parenting or tending to the home, and I get to create something with those thoughts that are not undone the moments my kids make a mess in the home.
I get to make some income on the side.
So yes, I get to be a WAHM.
It’s not harder or easier than the lifestyles of my fellow moms, the SAHM and the WAHMs — just different.
Working while also parenting from home is not always easy, and it certainly doesn’t mean I have it all. But it does allow me to meet my personal goals and my professional goals, albeit often imperfectly.
And at the end of a very long, tiring day, I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish – just as all of us moms are. It’s just that my end of the day oh-so-often involves me, my laptop, and a cup of decaf coffee until the wee hours of the morning until my baby starts crying. And then I put the work aside. And the labels aside. And get to just be Mom.
