Did you know that a recent study showed that working moms work an average of 98 hours a week? And stay-at-home moms work about 97 hours a week.
Between working a paying job (in some cases), taking care of kids, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, and all of the other necessities that mothers handle, moms usually start their day at about 6:30 AM and end at 8:30 PM. Of course, that’s not even dealing with husbands after the kids go to bed! Oh, and the study didn’t even account for weekends…
That’s a lot of overtime.
Laura Vanderkam (writer, author, and speaker) actually disagreed with the study done by Welch’s. She figured that most people, including moms, were counting time that basically their kids are awake. That would mean that things like taking a shower, going to the bathroom, and watching TV “while waiting for the school bus to come home” were included in the reported time from all of these moms.
Okay, I can understand that. Based on her own survey, Laura still reports that moms work about 62 hours a week.
Personally, I work from home and homeschool my seven-year-old. My day usually begins at 7:00 AM – as long as my toddler doesn’t wake up at 4:30 in the morning. I get started on work around 8:00, interrupted by cries for juice, requests to help with chores, and setting up my daughter with the lesson plan for the day. All the while, I’m responding to text messages and emails, calling suppliers to check on orders, and answering customers’ phone calls. At 5:00 PM, I shut down my computer and help my husband with dinner and all of the other necessities of running a household. (Thank goodness I have someone to help me!) Then at 8:00 PM, it’s time for a story, lots of cuddles, and getting the kids tucked into bed.
Of course, the day doesn’t actually end until about 10:30 PM. Even after the kids go to bed, I’m spending my evenings with laundry, bills, scheduling lesson plans, and other tasks that I simply don’t have the time to do throughout the day. I’ve learned how to squeeze in phone calls to doctors and other professionals on my drives to the store and picking up my other daughter from school.
Being a mom means taking care of the kid who has a massive fever. It means 2:00 AM wake up calls through a baby monitor. It’s changing a diaper while simultaneously checking a paper on the latest reading assignment. It’s playing referee to girls who can’t compromise on a game to play.
Sure, I try to take a breather for a few minutes after the kids go to bed. My husband and I will watch a favorite TV show for an hour before bed. We all will watch movies as family – when time permits. Of course, that also includes trying to keep our toddler from taking the house apart brick by brick throughout the movie. And yes, I will even hide in the bathroom for an extra five minutes while my husband has the kids… just so I can take a breath.
Believe it or not, it’s tough being a mom. But it’s all worth it.
My kids are my life force. They are the reason that I get up every morning and push forward. I may not get more money in the bank for all of the time that I put in, but I get such better payment for being a mom. I get plenty of cuddles, masterpieces for the fridge, stories about fairies before bed, and kisses from a little boy who can’t even pucker his lips yet.
This year, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12th. (Life hack: Mother’s Day is always the second Sunday of May!) Make sure that you let all of the moms in your life know how much you appreciate their hard work – because, trust me, they are always working.
