Working Moms

I know you see us. The moms at the playground, pushing our swinging tot with one hand, phone in the other. There is at least ONE of us around. At the zoo, the park, or the Chick-fil-A play area ... there is always one or two of "us" in your presence. I'm almost positive someone has mumbled under their breath that we should be off our phones and enjoying these moments with our littles. And I couldn't agree more. I just so happen to be that EXACT mom... I am the mom rushing kids out the door in the morning, answering a client's message about our session in an hour. I zone out in the middle of my teenager telling me...

You read that right. I have aides. Rather, my son has aides (also known as direct support workers - DSWs.) He has four regular nurses and two regular CNAs who care for him. Daily there are two strangers (minimum) in our home to care for our terminally ill, medically-fragile, technology-dependent son. Weekly we also have teachers, therapists, program coordinators, waiver supervisors, nursing supervisors and more enter our home. {Somebody send us a Roomba!!} I am asked frequently what it's like having so many strangers in our home. Well, it's weird getting used to at first. But when you weigh the alternative which is not having the assistance our son needs to survive -- you learn to deal with this sacrifice....

I'm a busy mom, raising a busy family, in a very busy world. My husband and I both work while we raise two young children. When we're not busy working we still manage to find some time to attend events for our children, exercise, volunteer, grocery shop, shop for clothing and other necessities, travel to spend time with extended family, maintain our home, and prepare meals for our family. We even make time to have a social life with friends and even sneak away for an occasional date night. We are VERY BUSY! My on-going, ever evolving to-do list probably doesn't look much different from any other mom. Believe it or not, this isn't even me complaining or looking for...

Years ago when I held an office job, I remember some coworkers complaining about the results of the Dancing with the Stars episode the night before. Evidently, the results were just plain wrong. My coworkers (and evidently even the show's judges) deduced that not as many people voted for the shoo-in because she was a guarantee, a no-brainer. Instead, they invested their votes to the contestants whom they felt needed the help. That example comes to mind often when I think about parenting.  It's a tough gig. It's not for the faint of heart. I knew before I became a parent that I was willing to rise to the occasion. I love a good challenge, and there's nothing quite as challenging...

One phrase I hear more often than not when it comes to being a solo parent with a somewhat demanding job is, “I don’t know how you do it!” Most days I don’t know myself. I do know that I rely heavily on prayers and coffee, amirite?! So in case you're wondering, here is what a “normal” day looks like for me: 6:30-7am My tiny alarm clock goes off, and 2-3 nights a week he ends up in my bed. This means it is a precious wake up call where he squeezes my face and says “I love you so much, can we turn on the TV?” 7am I turn on an episode of Mickey (or whatever the flavor of the...