Working Mom Blues

I am having a blah day today. Probably has something to do with it being Monday and the start of another work week which means leaving my lovely daughter with her sitter and sitting in this windowless office for nine hours. Blah. Not to mention we are having just gorgeous weather for August. So to be honest, I'd just really rather be hanging in the backyard with my sweet girl, watching her discover the feel of grass between her toes.

Ahh, working motherhood...

I was thinking on that topic earlier and remembered my sister saying (before my daughter was even born) that working moms can't have it all, that something will inevitably be neglected. At the time I dismissed her comment, thinking that because she was essentially a stay-at-home mom, she didn't know what she was talking about. Now that I am on the other side, however, I think there is a grain of truth to her statement.

In my experience as a working mom, the thing that gets neglected the most is, well, me. During the work week, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. (well, more like 6:27 a.m. thanks to the snooze button), and I really don't stop until I put the baby to bed at 8:00 p.m. Sometimes later, depending on what chores need to be done. Weekends aren't much better sometimes, though I do get to sleep until 7:30 or so thanks to my darling husband. Yesterday, for instance, from the time I got up until after 8:30 p.m., I was going, going, going. Making breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, doing the grocery shopping, feeding/changing/playing with the baby throughout.

By 4:30, when my husband plopped down on the couch to watch a movie, I looked on with envy (and anger?) because I would have loved nothing more than to do the same. But the baby needed a snack, and, oh, I have to clean the toilets, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes the weekends are worse than the work week and I look forward to Monday and the one hour I get for lunch so I can sit still and read my book while I eat leftovers in my office.

I bring all of this up to vent because, honestly, I don't have a solution. If only I didn't have to sleep...