In case you were wondering why working moms are stressed, here are 10 reasons working mamas are STRESSED the freak out: 

1. We are late to mostly everything.

Especially work. You can set 15 alarms, lay out clothes the night before and meal prep until the good Lord comes back, but inevitably there will be a meltdown or someone will have to poop and next thing you know, you are running 20 minutes behind speeding down the highway answering questions about where babies come from and why the earth is round.

2. We are tired.

Most nights we come home from work already exhausted with several more hours of dinner/dishes/homework/bath/bedtime routine. Not to mention the fact that one kid will take 45 minutes to fall asleep while the other will wake up 16 times in the night.

RELATED: I’m an Exhausted Working Mom and I’m Trying Harder Than You Know

3. We have to do laundry.

Laundry. Is. Our. ENEMY. I folded seven loads this weekend and I still have more all because I chose to skip last weekend. It is the devil and sometimes I think about just starting a bonfire in the backyard with all the clothes and just starting fresh. 

4. We are hungry.

We are expected to feed our children nutritious meals when there are some days I don’t even get breakfast or lunch (mostly my fault). And don’t get me started on all the Pinterest lunches I’ve packed for my kids only for them to take one bite. Every time we do actually sit down to eat someone needs more of something and we must get up. Repeat this x20 and you’ve got an average dinner in our home. 

5. We aren’t allowed to be sick.

Sick days are never really used for ourselves because we never really know when the stomach bug could wipe out our entire house. Who is the one that’s gonna clean up the puke? **points to self**

6. We have to drive our kids everywhere.

We have to be an Uber driver for small humans that mostly cry when they are buckled up and they don’t tip very well. Extracurricular activities are amazing and do wonderful things for our children but some days, the money, the practice, and the late nights are just too much for the tiny humans and exhausted mom.

7. We must participate in all the things.

Classroom parties/field trips are wonderful and are amazing memories made with our children. But working 40+ hours a week means I sometimes can’t bake two dozen cupcakes or cancel an important meeting to go to a pumpkin patch. And the mom guilt is real! My heart wants to volunteer for all the things . . . but have you seen my laundry room?! Just sayin’. 

8. We must look pretty.

Working moms, well women, in general, are expected to look put together. Ever heard of contouring and fake lashes? Yup, that’s a thing . . . that women do . . . every day . . . who in the holy heck has time for this?!

9. We must keep a clean house.

The house . . . well, it will never be clean. Like . . . never. You can try with all you might for your house to look like a Chip and Joanna Gaines farmhouse chic Pinterest billboard but just as you are about to pack the kids up for school drop-off, right when you have 20,000 things in your hand, your kid will spill his orange juice or the dog with take a crap on your couch. It happens.

10. We have to work with the guilt that our children spend more time with others than with us.

We are expected to work like we don’t have children and raise children like we don’t have careers. We are ALWAYS torn between excelling in our careers or rocking it as moms. The balance between the two seems non-existent. Sometimes we roll up to work while drying our tears and fighting the urge to go snatch our babies up and take them home to cuddle forever. Sometimes we roll up to the school drop-off line and practically push our children out of the car because we just need two seconds of silence before we get to work.

RELATED: To the Working Mom When All You Feel is Guilt

However, at the end of the day, when we finally lie down, we thank the Lord above for this beautifully chaotic life we have and pray for extra grace for the next day . . . because we know we are gonna need it.

Now to go mop the floors and do more laundry!

Disclaimer: I was interrupted four times while trying to post this . . . and it’s after 10 p.m. 

This post appeared on the author’s Facebook page

Being a working mom is like running a never-ending marathon. We love the practical strategies in Stretched Too Thin for empowering working moms to get the most out of life. Don’t have time to sit and read? Listen to it on Audible during your commute.

 

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