Wednesday, March 2, 2011

You know you are a working parent when....

I thought it would be fun to put down on paper some of the things we do as working parents that stay at home parents may not. Please play along in the comments section!
  • You give your child Motrin along with breakfast just in case a fever pops up with a cold. You do this because you have meetings scheduled that you can’t miss and your spouse is traveling.
  • You let your child eat mini blueberry muffins every single day for 4 weeks just because it’s easier and you need to get out the door on time.
  • You have the morning routine so scheduled that a 5 minute delay causes total chaos and seems to result in getting to work 20 minutes late.
  • You lay your clothes out the night before so you don’t have to think about what to wear.
  • You know that a true vacation day is one where daycare is open but work is closed (Yay for President’s Day!).
  • The Blackberry is a critical tool to get out of the office on time.
  • You schedule the earliest doctor well visit possible so you can still get to daycare before the cut off and put in an almost full day of work.
  • You are firm that evening time is family time and additional work must wait until after your child is in bed.
  • You love Fridays because you work from home and don’t have to commute 60+ minutes for that day. Enough time for a good workout!
  • You indulge your child’s request for “ABCs” (aka “The Alphabet Song”) 57 times on the commute to daycare because you won’t see her all day.
  • You get an incredible feeling when your child shouts, “Mommy!” and runs into your arms for a hug after school.

5 comments:

LauraC said...

Our school doesn't have a cut off! I think I would die if ours had a cut off and we missed it.

I'm in a foul mood this morning so the only things I can think to add are not nice. Will keep my mouth shut today.

Nicole S. said...

I should make a similar list for SAHMs. For the most part though, I think we have it easier. If you didn't have a job that you enjoyed, it would be really awful to do that whole juggle. That's a big part of the reason I stay some. I really admire women who can "do it all" - I often feel like I'm just getting by as a parent without another job to think about!

Drew said...

My contract job is up in a month, and I am dreading it. I like getting up and taking a shower and getting dressed nicely, and having adult time during the day and having a small amount of time with my child at night (yes, I said it). He is a handful and I am freaked out about planning for him 24-7 again. So freaked out in fact we might continue daycare until a few weeks after Deuce is born. All that being said, I have an awesome job right now with lots of flexibility, so if he keeps me late with a diaper blowout, eh.
We do the blueberry muffins too. I keep swearing I will make some and freeze them ahead. Maybe someday? Other things - frozen pancakes, waffles, toast are our staples. Even on the days I am home... Now that is bad!

Anonymous said...

Along the lines of Nicole's comment, I was thinking, "every parent is a working parent," including full-time at-home parents... :-)

Erin said...

I completely agree with every one of those! We do the blueberry muffins too! =)