working moms

I've shared my opinion on working vs. stay-at-home moms with some of my working mom friends. It's not that I have anything against the SAHM. It's against the people who schedule free kids activities at times only SAHM can attend.

For instance, library story times are Tuesdays at 2:00 for two-year-olds. (Isn't that cute?) The free craft each week is Thursdays at 10:30. Free kids movie camp is Wednesdays at noon. The museum has free admission on Mondays. Or what have you...

I don't feel guilty that I work full time outside the home. I have to in order to have a roof over my family's head. Hubby just can't do it alone. I get stressed out at my current job, and daydream during my hour commute about quitting...for a job I would enjoy more. Not that I don't wonder what it would be like to stay at home. I'd love to spend more time with my daughter and dogs, but that doesn't mean I'd get the housework caught up or the yard work done. We'd be at the museum or the library.

We still do those things on the weekend. But there aren't any library story times on Saturday or Sunday, or free crafts or free movies or free museum admission. I guess because I work out side the home I have money to pay for these things. Thankfully, I can.

Because we both work, Hubby and I send our four-year-old to a wonderful preschool so she can have interaction with other children her age. She goes three days a week and loves it. There's crafts, story time, songs and other activities, but, we don't get to participate with her because we're working. And, preschool isn't free. We're lucky that we have family who can care for her the other two days. Weekends are Mommy/Daddy and Punky Pooh days.

But, Hubby and I also have household chores and errands to do on the weekend. I just can't get everything done on weeknights after working a full day outside the home. I could if I never slept. Sometimes the dishes are left in the sink, and thankfully, we have enough clothes that I can skip doing laundry once in a while. Even though the library is open till 9, and the movie theater even later, I don't want to cram it into a weeknight. There's supper to fix and baths to take to get ready for the next day.

Because we work outside the home, away from our family for hours, family time is precious. We want to take our kids to the museum or the movies or craft time. It would be nice if some free activities were scheduled on weekends when working parents have a little more free time.