The struggle is real; you see I’ve experienced both worlds throughout the life of being a Mama and I tell you, nothing is harder than attempting to have a career outside of the home while juggling sick kids, appointments and other events that come up when you are raising children. When my first born was a little one, I worked outside of the home and she was watched by an at-home mother, the family nearly took my daughter in as their own, so I don’t recall working outside of home being as challenging as it is now; with three children depending upon me to be Mama.
One thing about my character is that I do not commit to anything that I cannot follow through with, you see, I pride myself on being dedicated, dependable and loyal. Sadly, the reality of raising three children and attempting to have a career outside of the home means that dependability is dependent upon three other human beings always being in best of health, as most people know, health is not always a predictable condition. We get sick. We have bad days. Life happens. That is reality.
I am not a call out of work type of person, it kills me to have to call my boss and admit that a child is sick or something has come up on the motherhood side of life that won’t allow me to be into work. It absolutely drives me into a near anxiety attack; for me to pick up that telephone and dial in to my office to call out, is simply a painful experience. When your child is sick and you have to be there for them yet you also have a full time job that depends upon you, you become torn. My children have to come first, of course, that is something I was clear about when hired into the position, but it still isn’t easy when your child is sick and you have a commitment to an employer to show up for work on time and every day.
One way I overcome my challenge of anxiety with calling out of work is simply this: life happens, I am a mother and that is just part of being a parent – children will get sick, appointments will come up and life does happen in unpredictable ways. All you can do is make the best decision in that moment as each situation arises and hope for the best to come. It is what it is, as a full time working outside of home parent, you simply just have to take each day one at a time and know that you are doing the best you can do!
It’s a real challenge to make schedules and responsibilities work. Being dependable is the mark of a good employee, parent, and citizen. You’ve got it covered in style.
I remember the feeling of anxiety when I’d run out of sick days but still had two kiddos sick. Working at home now brings with it a different set of struggles.
You are right. Life happens. You can’t help if your child gets sick. Sometimes you just have to deal with life as it comes.
Ah I was just the opposite, I hated the kids to be sick but I loved the day off, lol. Now my mindset is different. Funny how things change. 🙂