WHY I'M A WORKING MOM

About four years ago, when I was pregnant with Elliot, another manager in my company approached me and asked me if I planned to stay home after giving birth. I said no, I needed to work for myself and because I actually had to as my husband and I needed the income.

After having Elliot, the same manager, came to my office and told me "why don't you quit and stay home with your baby? You should be home with him" Honestly, I really did want to. I was a new mom and I wanted to be home with my baby, but it wasn't something we could do. We struggled in the beginning of our marriage, we both had low paying jobs and could barely afford rent for a 500 sq ft apartment. Once we both found our careers, it's something we wanted and needed to keep going to be able to purchase a home and have a stable source of income from both sides.

Anyway, fast forward to my maternity leave with Oliver. I really, really prayed and wished I could stay home. This time it hit me really hard! Why couldn't I? We could make it work right? Four months at home with two kids taught me that in order for ME, (MYSELF, I am not speaking for anyone else here) to have a balanced life, a happy life, I need to work. I never thought these words would come out of my mouth! Of course there are days when I would LOVE to be home with them to make them breakfast, play with them, care for them and I'm sure I'm going to always have those days because I always miss them like crazy, but working makes me feel so good. It might sound selfish but think about it this way, working makes me happy, which in return, makes my kids happy because their mom is happy. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be a stay at home mom because that job is freaking hard. The HARDEST. My hat is off to you ladies who are stay at home moms.

Of course there's that other little thing about having to work called bills, mortgage, car payment that matters too. I'm not one of those moms who could make it work. My husband and I have talked about it, put numbers on paper, and right now is just not feasible for us and I'm okay with that. This probably plays a big part in why this is my mentality and the way I feel, but if and when finances allowed, I would still give this whole SAHM good and long thought.

The other day I read a post (from a working mom) (!!!) that she didn't want to pay daycare to raise her kids anymore. Say what?! I cannot believe that in this day and age, moms still think that, about themselves nonetheless! I certainly do not think that daycare is raising my kids at all. We teach them morals, values, and give them guidance and love at home.

As women, we are allowed to have careers and we are still fully capable of raising kids that are smart, strong and have good morals. It's a matter of balancing career and home life, and being able to spend quality time by making time for the things that matter. The dishes can wait till the end of the day so we can play with our kids. Laundry can take one more tumble in order for us to read our kids a book at bed time (let's be real it stays there overnight most of the time). Weekend chores can wait till next weekend to be able to catch a Sunday baseball game or a zoo trip. Elliot is more than happy when I sit down on the floor with him and play cars, "mens" as he calls playing with little superhero figures, his Peppa Pig house or help him make a Lego castle out of the tiniest Lego's in all of the land while Oliver plays on his play mat or he's on my lap while Elliot shows him his toys. I still completely suck at it sometimes and lose my shit, but my kids are happy and healthy (and alive!!). This mom and parent thing is hard no matter what you do and how you do it, but it is the best in the world! We do talk about me staying home with the kids one day, but we will see what the future has in place for us!