the Working Mom

Some weeks, I just want to pull my hair out and bang my head against the wall. Well mainly the weeks where I am on a major deadline push and poor Henry has a double ear infection. Meaning, I am at home with a sick child while my work and coworkers await for me to arrive at 6PM. Needless to say, it is a less than ideal scenario. 

First and foremost, poor Henry and his ears. We only have a few more options available before heading down the path of tubes. But honestly, I would rather him feel better than constantly tugging at his ears and in pain. I just want what is best for my child but I hate bouncing around from antibiotic to antibiotic.  Let's just keep out fingers crossed that this was the last ear infection of the winter season. Oh wait, it isn't even winter yet....I know I know, I should be more positive....

Secondly, I could go on and on about how tough the past couple of weeks were. Well, I am pretty sure that no one wants to listen to me whine. I know a certain husband who is desperately sick of my pity parties.  So yes, there are times when work is crazy, children get sick, husbands get ignored, and personal time is the time spent in the car traveling to and from places. 

Most days, I love going to work and admit that it is easier than being a full-time mom. I have serious respect for moms who stay at home with their children. Its a tough but rewarding job.  But if you happen to talk to me on a week of a deadline and Henry is sick, well, I might not be so positive about my job. 

I remember before I was pregnant, thinking that a co-worker, & mother of three, was crazy for coming back to work at 8 and working until 3 am. I mean, when did she sleep? I couldn't wrap my mind around her logic. Now that I have a child, I get it. Not only do I get it, I do the same thing. It gets a little lonely at work and it sacrifices time at home with Kyle but I get to be Henry's mom.

Life is a balancing act. Motherhood and architecture, a very tough balancing act. A friend sent me a link to an article on Architecture and Motherhood. http://www.archiparlour.org/architecture-motherhood/ . It is nice to know that I am not the only one out there. I mean, I realize that there are other working moms. I see a bunch when I drop Henry off at daycare. But architecture is a particularly different field, you can always spend more time. In grad school, I would run on 4 hours of asleep at night. I knew that was the bare minimum that I needed to be functional the next day. 

All that being said, the best parts of my days are those time spent with Henry. Watching him learn and grow, it is absolutely the most amazing thing in the world. Being a mom is the best 'job' I have ever had.