Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Supermom

Last week I was chatting with a couple of my friends from my Bible study group. They're both a bit younger than I am, and are married but no kids yet. They seem to like to talk to me about what my life is like with kids - I think because they're both contemplating having kids but aren't sure if they're ready yet. I'm like a living museum display; they get to peek in and see what it's like from a distance.

In any case, I was talking about my work situation - in that, I work about 10 hours a week, all at home, and squeeze it in when I can, usually in the evenings after the boys are in bed. One of them called me a "total supermom".

I don't think I really want to be a supermom.

I appreciate her compliment, I really do. She's told me before that she thinks my kids are really well behaved, and coming from an outsider, that is nice to hear. D is a sweetheart, and he's also a very energetic 3 1/2 year old boy - and as parents, we're biased. We simultaneously think our kids are the best kids on the planet, and also are hardest on them as far as their behavior. If he acts up a little bit in public, most people would say, "Oh, he's fine!", while I'm ready to haul him to the van for a time out.

In any case, I was thinking - I'd rather not be supermom. If I could drop the work entirely and it not affect our financial situation, I would. Honestly, I don't do it to "stay in the game" or stay connected with some semblance of a career. I do it because we need the money; this makes our lifestyle a lot easier, has helped us pay off some debt and allows us to save more and have some extras. Those are good, necessary things and I'm willing to put in my hours to have them. But if I didn't have to, I wouldn't be working, even just the 10 or so hours a week I do.

The thing is, I'm mommy from the second I get up in the morning until we get them both to bed in the evening. During that time I have to manage to get things done around the house, do a thing or two for myself (like workout), run errands, cook dinner - everything that taking care of my family entails. Once D is in bed for the night, usually between 7-7:30 these days, I have to put in a couple hours working. That doesn't leave me much time at the end of the day when I'm not busy. It's a lot to pack into a day.

I don't mean to complain too much. I'm very grateful for my situation. I'd much rather do this than work full or even part time outside the home and have to juggle childcare and all that. For what it is, this situation is darn near perfect and I'm very glad to have the opportunity to earn money in this way. But, given the choice, I probably wouldn't do it. Someone else can be supermom - I'll settle for just mom anyday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So many times I have thought if only I could just do the mom thing for now, with some writing for my pleasure on the side and that's it. No more deciding to put the sleeping baby down because I need to get work done, but putting him down because I'm ready to do so.

*sigh* We need to win the lotto and split it. ((hug)) Then maybe buy vacation homes next to each other.