Balancing Career and Motherhood

I'm a single mom. But I'm also a full time professional biologist and freelance writer. I'm not sure which is more important, because if I didn't work, I couldn't afford to feed my kids, then again, if I neglect my children, what kind of parent would I be? It's not like I had the choice to make, that of working outside the home or being a stay at home mother, it was thrust upon me when my husband walked out. So, I had to make the best of it, and I think I've done a pretty good job of it.

It certainly wasn't easy at first, especially since my children were babies when the ex decided to vanish into the night, but I scraped by. Most of my money went to rent and child care, but with persistence, I moved my way up in the world until we could afford better accommodations and better food. Living off cup o' noodles isn't much fun. I remember the days of rationing milk and bread and feeling horribly guilty about it.

These days, however, my children are all teenagers (all three of them!) and are more independent, which allows me to work a little later or even relax a little more. They do chores to help out, although to hear them tell it, asking them to do the chores is the worst thing in the world. Like most single mothers, I still feel bad that I can't spend as much time with my children as I'd like to. When I get home, I'm tired and on the weekends, I really just want to relax. I do manage to spend time with them and now it seems they prefer going to the mall instead of playing outside or playing board games.

We seem to have bonded more now and I think it's a good thing that I had three girls. It would definitely be tough on a boy to live without a dad, but my girls are surprisingly well adjusted. They even tell me that they don't miss having a dad and they're glad I'm their mom. That, I have to admit, means so much to me, more than just about anything. I think I'm a good role model and I always stress that they are capable of accomplishing anything that they want. They seem to have taken my advice and do very well in school, and each of them intends to go on to college and get a professional career. I'm proud of my daughters and at the risk of sounding like I'm patting myself on the back, I'm proud of myself too