We Are All Mothers

At a recent meeting, a fellow colleague seemed perturbed when I mentioned that later in the afternoon I would be chauffeuring my two children to practice and classes. 

“You’re a mother who works?”

In my seven years of juggling both motherhood and my career, I have come to learn this is a loaded question.  Never sure how the person will react to my choice to continue with my career, I answer the question with a simple answer – All Mothers Work.

Having stayed home for six months after the birth of each of my children, I know first hand that staying home with the children is far more difficult than heading into the office.  Even more so, as my children grew older, tending to them, especially on days when I was working from home, the “work” was even more strenuous.  Often, people would ask me how I managed to work from home with two toddlers.  Conference calls in closets, writing on my laptop in the bathroom and sitting in a pile of play dough with work papers strewn about is what carried me through those difficult days.  Now that my children are both in school, I relish the days that I work from home.  The amount of work I can complete is outstanding in addition to the laundry and dishwasher that accost me with their full loads.  And most importantly, the highlight of those days I work from home come in the form of huge bright smiles running towards me from the open bus doors and porch time pick up.  Together at the kitchen table, children complete their homework and I can send one or two last emails.

For me, being a mother “who works” is no different from a mother “who works”.   Whether in the office or at home, I am a mother and I work.  Like our husbands who work at the office and then work when they arrive home, our main objective is the betterment of our children and our family – and yes, we are always working.

Everyone is entitled to make their own choice and select a choice the best suits their situation.  In the end, regardless of what is selected, there is work to be done both in the form of quarterly reports, laundry, conference calls, play dates and life.

For more on CC Fowler juggling motherhood and career, catch her on centraljerseyworkingmoms.com