all moms work hard

Work-from-home moms, stay-at-home moms, work-outside-of-home moms… Who has it easier? Which job is best? What is the most noble?

The better question is… How can you even ask those questions?!

Moms work hard.

All moms.

No exceptions.

I think the term “working mom” is deceiving, because, let’s face it, whether you get a pay stub or not, mothers work tirelessly at what they do.

And as much as I understand people’s well-meaning question, I loath being asked, “Do you work?”

Of course I work! I’m a mother!

For me personally, it goes a little something like this: Yes, I’m a stay-at-home mom… But I’m also a work-from-home mom and a working mom. It’s just that my time is divided up in those three categories much more like 75%, 10%, and 15% at the moment. So I basically just say I'm a SAHM. That's the simple answer.

But even though most of my time is spent at home looking after my baby these days… I am working as hard as I’ve ever worked in my life, some days harder. (And I’ve always been a very hard worker.) 

So yeah, “Do you work?” Silly question!

I’ll say it again… All moms work.

For some of us that means putting on our heels and catching the subway to a high rise office building or slinging on some goggles and scraping junk off someone’s teeth.

For others it means setting up our laptop on the kitchen table while Sesame Street blares in the background or fielding an important phone call while pushing a child on the swings at the park.

And for others it means pacing around the house (drenched in sweat and baby drool) trying to simultaneously settle a teething infant and keep the toddler from climbing into the microwave... all the while counting down the minutes until the next coffee break. (Oh wait, this one doesn’t come with coffee breaks.)

But as different as those scenarios are, it’s all very hard work.

It’s all valid. It’s all legitimate. It’s all necessary. It’s all important.

So why then do we so easily get caught up in comparing ourselves to other moms?

Every “working” mom has upsides and downsides to her position. If she’s at home, she might wish she had more adult interaction. If she works away from home, she might wish she had more time with the kids. If she works from home she might wish for both!

It’s easy to look with longing at someone else’s position and think they have it so much easier/simpler/more exciting, etc.

You know that statement, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”? Let me give you a reality check on that one:

The grass is greenest where you water it.

Wherever you’re at in your journey as a mom—whether you’re loving it and wouldn’t trade it for the world, or longing for the day when you can return to work or be home with the kids—we’ve got to keep setting goals for how we grow and develop in our work as we head into the future. We must make sure that we’re watering our own grass and making the most of our own working “position”.

And just to keep our facts straight:

1. All moms work hard.
2. There are challenges that come with work, no matter if we work at home or away.
3. There are rewards that come with work, whether home or away.
4. As women in Western society we are privileged with the choice to do what we feel is best for our families and ourselves, and this usually goes without being challenged. We are released to be as empowered as we want to be.
5. Our kids will grow up and turn out just fine as long as we’re doing our best and making our work choices with the whole family (including mom!) in mind.
6. All moms want to feel validated in the work they do.
7. Moms everywhere need to feel appreciated for their hard work and sacrifices of love.

So this series – Moms Who Work – is all about featuring women from a variety of working positions, learning from one another, supporting one another, and celebrating the fact that we all work hard to develop our families and shape the future.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s coming during this series:

• How to be a SAHM Without Losing Your Marbles
• Mom on a Wire: Finding Balance and Sanity in a Household with Two Working Parents
• The Best and Worst of… Being a Work-Outside-of-Home, Stay-at-Home, or Work-From-Home Mom (Reader Feedback)
• How I Became a Pediatrician Turned Stay-at-Home Mom
• The Pros and Cons of Being a Work-At-Home Mom
• From Work to Home or Home to Work: The Transition Process (Reader Feedback)
• Back to Work: How to Prepare for the Transition when Maternity Leave Ends
• Motherhood is Hard Work: A Single Mom’s Perspective
• A Dad's Vlog on Moms Who Work
• 8 Tips for Running a Business as a Work-at-Home Mom
• The University of Mom: A Studying Mom’s Perspective
• Hey Honey, How About You Stay Home with the Baby While I Go Back to Work?
• What You Wish Others Knew About Being a Mom in Your Shoes (Reader Feedback)
• I Wanna be a Rock Star When I Grow Up

And because I’m only one mom with one perspective, I’ve got a whole range of guest posters lined up who are contributing many of these amazing articles. You will love hearing from them, and no doubt will be inspired, motivated, challenged, and affirmed in your own role as a “working” mom… whatever your situation may be.

My hope is that you will feel valued and appreciated through this series. Because moms work hard… You work hard.

Dear mommy-friends, I am so excited to kick off this series today with highlighting the fact that moms work hard! What do you think? Do moms work hard? Do you sometimes feel unappreciated or misunderstood in your work? Do you want your perspective on “work” to be broadened by other perspectives? Are you as excited as I am to be hearing from these ladies (and a dude!)?? What have you been doing to “water your grass” lately??? Oh, so many questions…

glad to be a working mom,

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adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission