One of the reasons I chose the career I did was because I wanted the ability to be a part-time working mom when I had my kids. As a nurse, I can work various shifts and have different types of roles that allow my husband to be home with our children. Yes, my husband and I work opposite shifts, but I work three days a week so we still spend a lot of quality time together as a family.
What I never understand is the rationale behind other people’s feelings toward my work status. Over the years I have been asked too many times to count: “Why do you work?” or “Why don’t you just stay home?” or “When are you going to be full-time again?” or “Why don’t you just work the day shift and put the kids in daycare/school?” It has made me feel at times that my work status was insignificant or that what I do isn’t enough.
Why My Career is Important to Me
I find it important to have my own identity separate from my responsibilities at home. I earned my bachelor’s degree in nursing before I met my husband. Over the years, I have had success in many aspects of my career both personally and professionally. I still have great pride in my career since having my children. However, the time and energy for the extra things I did professionally has now been put into providing for my family and our home. I still take great pride in caring for others, and my hope is my children recognize that as they get older.
Society expects so much from mothers, but I also feel the pressure that we can never do enough at the same time. Having a career brings me fulfillment and happiness, which makes me a better person and mother. As someone who has experienced anxiety since a young age, I enjoy having a job that keeps me personally busy besides what I do in my day-to-day life with my family.
Work-Life Balance
My work schedule allows me to have the perfect work-life balance that I need. I have learned to value the importance of good sleeping habits, nutrition, and exercise. These are all things that are the key to the balance I need. With my job, I can manage my time and energy so that I can feel fulfilled and engaged, allowing me to show up as my best self for my family.
One thing that I have also learned to value more over the years is self-care. That day-to-day balance needs to involve self-care. Self-care makes us less prone to emotional health issues such as anxiety and stress. I enjoy reading, spending time outside, and the occasional massage or pedicure when I can squeeze them in for self-care.
Surrounding yourself with supportive people is also very important. Having family and friends that love and support you and your family makes a huge difference. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or accept help from your circle of people. As they say, it takes a village.
Benefits of Being a Part-Time Working Mom
Findings over the years have shown that there are countless benefits to being raised by working women. Research shows no significant associations between a mother’s employment status and whether her children grow up to be happy adults. We can be made to feel guilty as parents, especially mothers. Sometimes we don’t feel like we are being good enough parents, but research has failed to show any negative effects of a mother working, either on young children or adolescents. It shows a positive effect on children as they become adults. Adult children of working mothers are said to be higher achievers at work and are happier also. A win-win for a mother who feels that mom-guilt for having a career.
The Personal Benefits for Me
Having Quality Time Together: Being a part-time working mom has many benefits for me. I can be involved in my children’s education and learning opportunities – such as homeschooling. It also allows me to plan my schedule accordingly to have my children involved in activities, and so that we can spend quality time together.
Friendships/Socialization: Work friends are a huge benefit to working. Just like our children need socialization – so do we! Having a family and raising your children can make it difficult to maintain friendships. Life has changed drastically for us since having children. But having eight hours with great co-workers/friends is also something I enjoy about my career.
Extra Income: My career allows us to do the “extra” things together. Let’s be honest life has become expensive! Having the extra income allows us to do more with one another which is a huge benefit.
Personally Fulfilling: Having a career that is personally fulfilling shows my children that both their parents have jobs they are proud of. I hope it will teach our children to value the importance of having their own identities and careers as they get older as well.
Happiness is Key
I hope my kids will always remember my husband and I working as a team to raise them. That the choices we made have allowed me to be the best mom I can be. I hope they will always value me as their mom knowing I followed my aspirations and dreams to make the best life possible for them.
Whether you work full-time, part-time, or are a stay-at-home mom – remember your focus should be to do what makes YOU happy and fulfilled. Forget the judgment from the outside because at the end of the day, what matters to me is my family. Being able to care for and provide for them while also having a sense of happiness and pride is all I ever wanted.
