life as a young mother

I used to set my alarm clock to get up and get ready for work, now I rush to turn off the alarm clock so it doesn't wake the baby.

I have been a mom for about 14 months now and I feel I am still in transition. I love my daughter and I love spending my days teaching her, playing with her, and loving her. Yet I still find myself missing the ability to up and go to movie with some friends without calling 5 different people to find a last minute babysitter. Or to go out of town or on a road trip on a whim with the only things to worry about were getting your boss to let you have the time off.

Most people work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, sometimes more if they have to. I work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the occasional break from a babysitter. Yet we still live in a society were women have embraced the work force so tightly that I am looked at by most as someone who just stays home and does nothing. It gets to me. A child (any age) is a lot of work, and if you don't take them to daycare or have a nanny then it is a full time job.

At my old job, there was a woman who worked there, she was head of her department and she had a 3 kids. After she came back from maternity leave with her last kid someone asked her why she just didn't stay home with her kids instead of working so hard to pay for their childcare. She replied to them, "Because dropping them off with someone else and coming here is easier than taking care of them myself all day."

This isn't a blog about why it's better to stay at home with your kids then to be a working mom, I understand some mom's HAVE to, they have no other choice. My mom was among those who were forced to work 3 jobs to support her 2 kids. I have been blessed by the ability to stay home and raise my daughter myself, yet I still find myself missing the independence of earning my own living, contributing to the household financially. But honestly even if I worked I would just be making enough to send Ali to daycare. I know that God has blessed us with a child and he has made me a mom for a reason and I just pray I always remember how important that job really is.

To all those mom's out there, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you realize how very special and important you are. You will impact the lives you have created and those around you more than you will ever know.