How I Balance My Work and Mom Life

Somewhere between scrambling out of bed, rushing over to my daughter's bedroom to wake her up, and tripping on her shoes that she just happened to leave in the hallway--for the 100th time--I manage to get out of the house with a Cup-O-Soup and a bannana in one hand and my car keys in the other. Not to mention my purse, work badge and my child's backpack hanging on my shoulder. Once I buckle my daughter into her car seat--because she'll take 5 minutes to do it on her own--I turn on the car just in time to realize that I forgot my debit card on the computer desk while paying bills the night before. As if I wasn't late enough already... I get my daughter out of the car seat, we run back to the house, unlock the door and grab my debit card just to scramble out the door again. It's like DejaVu while I'm buckling her seat belt again.

I get her to the school just in time to possbibly avoid the chatty parents. My make-up is half done but at this point I don't care. I see another mom gazing at me with a strange look on her face and I know what she's thinking. I glare back at her perfectly styled hair, nice make-up and thin figure and I immediately envy her as I realize she is one of those lucky stay-at-home moms. I almost yell out "I know my make-up is half done and I only have my left eyelash curled and only had enough time to put on mascara on my left eye ok lady?" I think my angry glare has said enough because she turns away quickly. I give my daughter a huge kiss and run back to my car hoping to make it to work on time.

At the red light, I have just enough time to peel my banana and take 3 huge bites to finish it quickly. The light turns green and I step on the gas hoping to make it past the next green light. As I speed down the street, I see the light is still green so right as I'm thinking I'll make it, the light turns yellow, then red and my car comes to a screeching stop. Well at least I'll have time to make my eyes look symmetrical. I take out my eyelash curler and mascara to quickly put it on my right eye. The light turns green again and off I go into another day at the office.

I get to my desk right in the nick of time and declare a victory against the clock. Once I arrive at my desk I see the huge pile of reports that I have to turn in by the end of the day. As my poorly manucured fingers are typing away in the office, I bury myself in paperwork and copy machines. The day doesn't seem to zoom by as quickly when I'm at work. It's like the clock is laughing at me; I can feel it taunting me with it's two asymmetrical clock hands. During my 30 minute lunch time, I manage to pay a few more bills and balance my checkbook while sipping my cup-o-soup meal.

So finally, it's the end of the day and I've survived. I get back into my car and rush out hoping to have enough time to pick up my daughter from school. Traffic is awful--what a surprise-- but I mange to survive the 30 minute commute and pick up my child. On the way home, my blackberry won't stop vibrating and I just know I've got a few new e-mails from the office to read when I get home. As if that isn't enough, I feel a vibration on my left hip where my personal cell phone is latched onto my pants. I reach down and see it's my husband--Great! what is it now?-- I think to myself. I pick up and sure enough... Dinner.

If you are a full time working mother, you must know how hard it is to come home from a hectic day in the office and then still have to cook dinner. I rarely cook--I'll be honest--even during the weekend. I only use two appliances in my kitchen; my microwave and fridge. The microwave cooks everything we eat and my fridge stores waterbottles, juice, yogurt, and anything that is labeled as "easy to cook". The freezer is packed with frozen foods. I only buy frozen veggies and TV dinners aside from my fruits and occasional snacks. As I throw in our frozen veggies into the microwave, I tell my daughter to get her homework out so we can start on it. By the time dinner is ready and her homework is finished, it will be time to get her in the shower, read her a book and tuck her into bed. My eyes are heavy as I read to her and I doze off. My husband comes in about 30 minutes later to wake me up. I feel dizzy as I walk through the restroom and brush my teeth. I finally lay down to sleep and get ready for tuesday morning.

So how do you juggle a full time job, being a mother , being a wife and still spending time on yourself? Believe me it's exhausting! Half of the time I'm running to get to work on time and the other half I'm running to get out of work and get home in time to "cook" dinner and start homework. There has to be a shortcut to everything I do. For example, I get my daughter's clothes and mine ready at night. I make sure all the homework and signed paperwork is ready in her backpack before we go to bed. Most importantly, I make sure that we are all in bed at least by 9:00 so we can wake up and face the hectic day the following morning.

All joking aside, you've got to find a balance between your job and your personal life to stay healthy and sane. Maybe someday I'll be lucky enough to stop working and be a stay-at-home mom. For now, I'll focus on my multi-tasking and my frozen dinners. Remember that no matter what job title you hold or how much money you earn, the most important job you will ever have is being a mother.

Here are some tips to make your life less stressful and easier:

*Take your child a shower at night, it will cut down the time in the A.M.

*Get all the school papers signed at night and leave everything, including backpacks and shoes ready by the door.

*Pick out what you will wear and have it ready before you go to bed.

*Have your lunch and your child's lunch ready in the fridge.

*Take a day off to relax--by yourself--to renew your body and mind.

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Sources:

http://www.happyworker.com/supermom/facts