Parenting and the Working Mom

By Valerie Cromartie

Okay, picture this….a mommy wakes up at 6:45 am thinking, “Okay good, I’ve got 15 more minutes to sleep,”…then she hears the dog walking up and down the hall. Click, click, click as his nails hit the floor.  “ I’ve got to remember to clip his nails,” she thinks, as she slides out of bed. 

She then lets the dog out, piddles in the yard, goes back into the house, iron’s the clothes for the two smallest kids (ages 4 and 2), and gets in the shower.  By then daddy comes home from work. He dresses the kids while mommy gets dressed.

Mommy wakes up the oldest, (a late teen, pre-adult, who sleeps practically until noon). They gather together just long enough to hold hands and pray, then go their separate ways.

Such is the day in the life of this working mom. You might ask why I don’t iron the clothes at night before going to bed.  Well, after getting home from work, preparing dinner then eating,  my husband and I bathe the kids, indulge them with story time (if it’s not too late), then two hours later we’re still yelling “GO TO SLEEP!” And, by 9:30 pm I’m walking in my sleep.  

Having said all that, I enjoy being a working mom.  What helps is that my husband and I enjoy parenting and we love God.  We discovered a few secrets during many trials of parenting and one thing we hold onto with certainty is that God is sovereign. 

We ask him to lead us and guide us daily as parents and as husband and wife. I thank God for a wonderful daycare provider who not only helps to prepare our children for school but she treats them like family and she reinforces the word of God. We share God with them in our home and in the community. 

That’s the key, working everyday to put GOD FIRST. As we continue to grow in our walk with Christ we thank him for the ups,  the downs, the twists and turns, resting on the knowledge that what he says in His Word is real.

“All things work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”  And, when we mess up, ‘cause we will or when someone throws up (and they tend to do so in pairs), we will be thankful for what we have.  

Sure, there are moments when I drag into work, wishing just for a moment that I could indulge in the luxury of being a stay at home mom. Then I remember,  oh, that’s work too. So whenever you have such thoughts, and trust me they will creep in from time to time, remember our heavenly father is a working parent too.
 

Valerie is a writer, counselor and full-time mother of three. You may contact her about this article at:
Writer@TheWritersWrap.com
 

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