10 Warnings for All Working Parents – By Shelly Lopez Gray (Registered Nurse)

I love this picture. The baby is about to electrocute itself and who knows what the other kid is doing in the background…

(3) No one in your family cares that you work.

This may sound a little harsh, but it’s so true! They don’t care that you’re working outside the home. They don’t care that you spent all day at work, when you get home you’re still expected to do stuff. Like, it is also YOUR job. I seriously think there needs to be some sort of feminist class or equality class in elementary school.

Why am I the one that is expected to do the dishes and the laundry and cook every meal?

And then when my husband does it, he’s applauded for “helping out”!?!? And to everyone out there that says “my kids care, my partner cares”….they may care, but they still expect you to do it! And if they don’t, please pass on your secret!! My husband does do stuff, but ultimately, I have more responsibilities at home, even though I work more hours (and I’m still in school. for the record. just saying).

(4) Everyone else’s needs come first.

Seriously, I’ve always known that this is a mom-thing. But I just didn’t know how much it would suck. And I hate to be the rebellious one, but whyyyyyyyy is it always okay!?!? The other day my daughter ate 10 chicken nuggets. There was a 50% chance she didn’t get breakfast, but still….TEN!? There were two leftover that I had every intention of eating. In fact, I had already taken a bite out of one. But she saw I had two and asked if she could have them. When I said no, my mother looked at me like I was the devil. And I wanted to say, but I didn’t eat breakfast either! And she doesn’t need twelve!

I own exactly three pairs of slacks, three black cardigans, a handful of blouses, and two pairs of shoes. I keep meaning to buy more clothes, but my daughter is going through jeans like they’re not $25 a pair. And then my husband needs suits. And hello, he needs them for work 😑 And yet, I wait for the underwire to come out of my bra and stab me in my side-boob before buying another bra. Sigh. (p.s. if you ever see me, you’ll find me in one of those black cardigans and slacks. I’m very aware there’s a tiny bleach stain in one and a hole in the other. No need to point it out). 😒

(5) You will get up earlier and go to sleep later than anyone else in your house.

Every night my husband begs me to go to sleep when he does. He either wants #2 (again, refer him to #1) or he doesn’t want me to wake him up when I finally go to bed. But there is still stuff to do, still work to be done, and he doesn’t seem to understand that the only time I’m actually able to do it is when the house is quiet and no one needs anything from me.

(6) Being off of work does NOT feel like being off of work.

No one ever told me this. No one ever gave me a heads up. It kills me to take PTO because when I take PTO I’m taking imaginary time away from my imaginary real vacation. You know, the one where I actually go somewhere and have absolutely NOTHING to do. But whenever you’re off of work, you’re still working. You’re just not get paid or any recognition for anything being done. And the work is harrrrrrrrrd. OMG is it hard.

He decided to water the sofa Another cushion to turn over.

(7) All your jobs are never-ending, except your actual job.

Seriously, if my husband made enough money, I would work just to have someone clean my house every day of the week. The work at home is endless. There are dishes, and laundry, and bathrooms that need to be cleaned, and who knows when the last time the floor was mopped or the baseboards dusted. Someone out there is going to read this and say “I do that every week” and just know I’d give you the dirty eyeball if I heard you say it. I once turned over a couch cushion because I just couldn’t be bothered to try to get the marker out.

(8) You will feel guilty.

I always thought I wouldn’t care if I missed some school event because of work. After all, I was working, not hanging out at a bar. But no one tells you about the constant guilt you feel for not always being present. And no one warns you about your kids favoring the person who is always able to show up (but thanks anyway Mom and Dad). And you don’t even have to actually miss an event to feel guilty. You will feel guilty when your kids don’t do well in an exam (you should have helped them study more), when they forget to turn in their homework (you should have put it in their backpack—-btw, where IS their backpack?!), or when they ask for your partner to put them to bed because they read the story until the end without falling asleep.

Guilt feels heavy!

(9) You become the glue.

Even if you don’t always work or mother well, you somehow become the glue that holds everything together.