I was awe struck today when I saw the beginning of an episode of
The Jane Pauley Show titled “New Motherhood”. She ran clips of various women describing the struggles they go through as working mothers. One mom said that she was lucky if she could make it home two nights a week to help put her son down to bed at night. Another mom said that after an 8 or 9 hour day at the office she feels guilty for leaving her kids for so long. She continued on to say that when she came home she felt guilty for leaving the office and that she could have easily given another few hours of her time there. Pauley and her guest Carol Evans, founder and CEO of
Working Mother Magazine proceeded to draw a clear and concise conclusion about why so many moms are working today. They concluded that more women attend college than ever before. These women want to put their skills to use and join the work force. Once the economy adjusts to the growing work force, families must rely on duel incomes for survival, thus women
must work. We’re not referring to the single mothers who must work and have no choice in this matter. We’re referring to mothers from two parent homes that chose to work. My experience and philosophy in life doesn’t support this conclusion. I believe many women don’t feel complete unless they have a career. The working mothers that I’ve spoken with seem to feel that as a fulltime parent they’re not worth as much as their male counterparts. Instead of viewing their position at home with the children as an important contribution, they view it as being unemployed. This “feeling” that women experience troubles me.
As a college graduate and fulltime mom I know that my job is as important as my fulltime employed husband. My job begins at sunrise and often continues into the early morning hours of the following day. Often, there is no opportunity for a break and even more often, little praise or gratitude is shown. The reward for my hard work, will hopefully be a well adjusted, content, and loving child who will grow up to be a well adjusted and productive adult who will make a positive contribution to society. I awake each day and fall asleep each night knowing that I’ve added to the world in a very important way. Though the cost of living is high and my husband and I might like to have new cars, a newer and larger home, and fantasy vacations, we’ve chosen to adjust our lifestyle so that we can devote our time, energy, and finances to our family. I know that with my degree I could have a highly respected professional position and that I might even make a wonderful difference in the world. Still, I choose to put my well-educated mind toward making a difference in my family which will in turn, make a difference in the world.
I am proud of my job. When people as if I work for a living I no longer say, “No, I’m a fulltime mom.” Instead, I answer, “Yes, I work very hard. I am a fulltime mother who devotes most of her day to teaching, loving, and nurturing her daughter. I work at giving my heart and soul to my family so that we can all grow to be important people in this word.” I didn’t get to finish watching the episode of The Jane Pauley Show so I can’t comment on the remaining segments. Instead, I turned off the Television, fed my baby, expressed some breast milk for freezing, dressed my daughter, and taught her about the importance of ladybugs. I’d say it was a job well-done.
