Two Job Mama

Hi. My name is Heather. I have two kids and I work because I like to.

There, I said it. Now you try.

Feels kind of good, doesn't it, to admit that you like working? That even though you could stay home with your kids, you don't. And you aren't wracked with guilt about it every time you walk out the door.

I didn't say you were totally guilt-free, because I'm not either. There are definitely days when I know that my kids could use a little extra mom time, or they just haven't had quite enough sleep because we stayed over too late at their cousins' house watching football on Sunday. But you know what? My kids are fine. And I am fine because I work.

And that's why I'm here.

I'm sick of feeling like I have to defend my choice to work. I'm sick of feeling like I'm the only working mom on earth who is not lying awake at night chastising herself for leaving the house for 8 or 9 hours a day. I don't pretend to wish I was a stay-at-home mom because, the truth is, I don't wish that at all. I love my job and I love my kids. So every day I figure out how to make it work, and no two days are the same. It's not easy, and I definitely don't have the answers. I'm also not judging stay-at-home moms – that's a calling and it's intensely hard, and I admire and respect you for your choice. I'm just putting my two cents out there, that's all.

I'm just one woman with two jobs. The one at home and the one at work.

If you don't like what I have to say, you don't have to read this. If you do, feel free to add your two cents in, too. We can all use a little help, right?