A good friend of mine is sad her oldest child is headed off to college. She cries every day at the thought of being without her daughter and is having a hard time keeping herself together. On the bright side, however, she said she felt happy that she had NOT been a stay-at-home mom, because at least she has her job to focus on while her daughter is away. When I pointed out that I had happily stayed home, she got a little ruffled, and apologized for implying that I wouldn’t have anything once my kids were up and out.
I started to feel sorry for her. When my kids are in college, I won’t have a full-time career that I nurtured during my children’s formative years to fall back on. That’s true. But when I bring my kids to their college campus, I will know that I didn’t squander any of our time together. I did not shortchange myself by trying to balance the demands of a full-time job with the wants and needs of my family. Any mother who loves her children will feel emotional when they grow up and fly away, but those of us who chose to be the primary influence in their lives will know that they will be taking almost as many memories of us with them as we are holding onto at home.
Maybe I’ll never have the career my friend has, but I believe I have something much sweeter to hold on to for the rest of my life.
Lynn
I Feel Sorry For My Friend Who’s A Working Mom