Be: A Working Mom
Stay-at-Home Mom, Working Mom. Here we have two of the most misleading phrases in our womanhood vernacular.
There's a question that is often posed to women with young children, maybe you've heard it asked before:
"Do you work?"
My answer: "No, I'm a stay-at-home mom."
Wait, what? I just said I don't work. That's not true! Of course I work, I work hard. But because my work doesn't give me a paycheck or involve a company, the appropriate answer is that I don't work. This couldn't be further from the truth.
The problem is exacerbated when we call a woman a working mom. This further insinuates that stay-at-home moms aren't working, lounging on the couch—which we all know is nonsense. Sure, there are lazy stay-at-home moms and lazy working moms out there, but the majority of mothers I know are worker bees who seize every moment of every day to make maximum impact.
I'm a stay-at-home mom with some side hustles, one of which is this blog. Household management is my number one job, the side hustles come second. Ever since school started two weeks ago, I've been stretched to the limit managing my household. You'd think things would've slowed down now that all three of my children are in school, but that isn't the case. I've been wanting to write articles, but have had to take care of more important things, such as:
Tutoring. Coaching. Counseling. Cooking. Cleaning. Cheerleading. Bookkeeping. Scheduling. Styling. Shopping. Chauffeuring. Event Planning. Disciplining. Playing. Praying.
It's great work. I love my job, and it exhausts and depletes me on the daily. I've chosen it because I want the time with my children; my husband and I believe this investment will pay off in the future. We each have the freedom to choose how we structure our family system. You do what you believe is best for your family, and this will look different in different homes.
So, while we brainstorm more accurate phrases than Stay-at-Home Mom and Working Mom, let's promise to never, ever say, "I don't work." Because it just isn't true.
