Working Mom Blog - epilogue

I came up with this idea while dozing overnight...

The reality is, being a mom makes for really full days...

Being a working mom makes for exponentially full days...

You can't always do it all. You can't always make the appointments, the meets, the visits. Your time is so very costly...

And that is why I thought of this. Sometimes this season is so lonely that it becomes unbearable and you feel like all you are doing is spinning in a circle.

You will wake many mornings wishing you could do so much more, not just for your kids, or your spouse, but even for yourself. You will wish you could make it to the gym, that you could make friends, that you could respond to email. You will wish that you could work on that hobby you haven't picked up in five years.

You will long for help with a menu, help organizing chores and schedules, help with those things that you aren't good at, like decorating, or entertaining.

I can't say that I have the answers for these things as I experience them myself. But I've been mulling a couple thoughts lately that have been helping.

One, this is such a brief season. Trust me. Whether your kids are tiny or teenagers, they will grow up and be gone in a blink. I'm learning to ignore some things that don't need critical attention so that I can be active in those things that pass quickly, like stories and icecream. I wish I had learned that sooner.

Two, others have gone before. Sure, many women didn't work outside the home, but they were busy women just the same. It is very likely that they had some of the same dreams, issues, and challenges that we do, but for whatever reason, I know I don't easily remember that.

Three, our worth and value is not found in our employment OR in our kids, truly. All of that fades. Our worth and value is found in Christ (thankfully!)

So, continue the journey. Books and friends can help, the Word deeply ingrains, and watching our kids journey through their own life and faith brings life and healing.