Nine is Enough!: A Tribute to Working Moms

There has been a lot of posts, articles and blogs that I have seen on FB about stay at home moms and everyone give a shout out to the stay at home moms. I'm not here to argue and say that stay at home moms don't work, because they surely do. They might not get a paycheck and pay taxes but they surely do work. I'll give them that and that is a job I would never want to have.
I'll be the FIRST to admit that I hate all types of house work...cooking, cleaning, laundry, you name it! When Matt and I moved in together I made it very clear that I'm not Betty Crocker and I'm a horrible house keeper. Over two years later after living together, he will definitely agree with me. And no, I don't really plan on changing. We both do the things around the house that needs to be done but I don't thrive on a neat house, much less a spotless one and thank goodness he doesn't require one. Unless I could afford someone to come in and clean my house every week, it's not an easy task to keep up after 4 fuzzy animals that live in the house with us, so we are comfortable with the occasional tumbleweed of hair that floats by us on a regular basis. But let's not get me too much off topic because I want to give a shout out to working moms.
Again, let me say that stay at home moms truly work hard but I want to focus on the working mom and we can even use my mom for an example. Fortunately, my mom had a great job with a flexible schedule, so did my dad. My mom worked because she had to and really because she loved her job and career. Even to this day, after working the SAME JOB for over 30 years, she still loves her job. If you didn't know, my mom is a speech pathologist. She gets to work with undergraduate and graduate students at the university in helping them become SLPs as well as see her own patients, both minors and adults. Students change, patients change, which keeps things new and fresh for her. I admire her for working in a profession for over 40 years and still enjoying it.
Even with my mom working, she and my dad provided home cooked meals for us 5-6 nights a weeks and almost every evening we ate as a family. She was at every volleyball match, horse show, softball game and swim meet that I played in. She was home with us at night and on the weekends. She was there when we really needed her AND she worked. Honestly, even if they were financially able to, my mom would of worked part time, because she wanted to.
There are so many women out there that have to work but then there are women who truly want a working career, no matter what it is and they make it happen if they want a career and a family. My mom was one of those. I"m not sure if I ever have told her this, but watching my mom work, gave me a work ethic and showed me that you really can do it all and have it all but you can't expect it to be handed to you. But the most important thing she taught me was to always ask because the worst thing someone can tell you is "No"!! Who has heard me say that?! ;-)
I'm sure my mom learned from her mom about a work ethic as my grandma always worked as well. Even my paternal grandmother always had a job, as a butcher until she retired and went back to school in her 50s and became an nursing assistant. It gives me comfort knowing that the important women in my family worked.
It also gives you financial comfort. We you get married, you hope that it is forever but sometimes it doesn't work out. If it doesn't work out, you know that you can support yourself. Unfortunately, my mom and I had to be on our own after marriages not working and it has given us comfort knowing that we can take care of ourselves financially.
So ladies, if you are a working mother, no matter if you have to be or because you want to be, know that you are showing your children important values and be proud of what you are teaching them. Thanks Mom, Grandma Monty and Grandma Rosie for your amazing attitudes and love that you gave me, even while you were working.