I’m not sure if I told you this before or not (I think I have… sorry.. my memory stinks since having kids!) but I write for a monthly magazine called Cincinnati Parent. It’s a great magazine (if you’re a parent of course). It talks about issues we as parents face, activities that are happening around town and gives just general parenting tips.
Anyway, I’m not sure why I haven’t been posting my article’s for you to read! A year later, I’ve had a revelation! LOL!
Okay, so here’s my July article. Check it out and the next time you’re walking into the grocery, library or business… look for your own Cincinnati Parent magazine. They’re free! Or just visit their website, cincinnatiparent.com.
Here goes:
Stay home or be a working parent? It’s a tough choice that most of us have had to weigh, at least once. For most of us, it’s not an easy decision. Is living more comfortably worth being away from our kids one hour a day, let alone eight to ten hours a day? Do I want someone else helping to raise my children? Do I want to give up the career that took me so long to build?
Before I had my first son five years ago, I thought I knew it all. I remember saying, “I could never stay home. I’ll be a better mom if I work.” What does that mean?! Looking back, it seemed so simple. Like many of you, I had spent four years in college and many more beyond that, trying to get the job in my field, doing what I loved. Was I ready to give that up, when I had a baby? The answer then, was NO WAY! That was before I became a mom. The moment my son was born, the battle started. I’m not talking about the battle some parents have with each other. What someone else decides is right for them, is none of my business. But the battle within ME began. I remember counting the days, fretting each day that my maternity leave grew shorter. How was I going to leave this little person with a babysitter? What was I going to miss? What if he got sick and needed me? I had all of these fears and the babysitter I had at the time wasn’t even a stranger! It was my sister!
Twelve weeks flew by, and for our own personal reasons, my husband and I decided that I was going to return to work. It was hard, harder than I ever imagined. I remember calling home ten times a day, checking to see if I missed anything. As much as I told myself I wasn’t, I knew that I was.
That was more than five years ago and since then I’ve had another little boy, who turns two this month. I work five days a week and even though I work second shift and my husband works first, our boys are still with a sitter about six hours a day, five days a week. I tell myself that quality time is what matters. I live for the weekends and try to be Super Mom in the mornings before I have to leave for work. That has always been my comfort, until a recent Monday night at the pool.
I took the day off, just to have an extra day with my boys. I took them to a petting zoo, went exploring on some trails and even had a picnic by the lake. Then, that evening we went to the community pool. I’m sitting there. It’s 5:30pm and I look around and see all of these parents. Moms are watching the kids. Dads are just getting home from work, rushing in with their swimsuits to take part. And it donned on me, normally at 5:30pm on a Monday night, I’m at work, in the middle of a newscast. It’s a MONDAY NIGHT and these families are together, enjoying something as simple as an evening swim and I miss all of that. I’ll miss that most of the summer, unless it’s a Saturday or a Sunday.
Making the decision to be a Stay-at-Home parent or a Working Parent is tough decision. On this night, for me, it was even harder. I’ve always respected my friends who are Stay-at-Home Moms and now, I admired them even more.
