Today is my daughter’s fourth birthday and we had our families over to celebrate. (She is having her kids party at a gymnastics place next weekend and I am so excited to have someone else clean up the mess.) It was only 10 of us but with all the cooking and preparations, a friend visiting in the middle of it all, and Father’s Day being on the same day (requiring numerous crafts activities and presents purchases) this weekend completely wiped me out. My husband asked how I am doing and I told him that I am too tired to complain.
As I got ready to start working my night shift I turned on some background TV and Jon & Kate Plus 8 was on. It’s not the first time I’ve seen the show and I’ve experienced the awe of watching these parents manage their eight kids before. But as I sat here feeling exhausted and sorry for myself, I also started to feel like a bit of a wimp. Sure, I work a lot, do a lot around the house and have an overall packed schedule, but I only have one child! Here they are, taking care of eight kids and they are seemingly holding it together pretty well. Yes, I know it’s TV and I am sure they lose it here and there off-screen, but for the most part, it seems like they take things in stride.
I often feel similarly around my working mom friends who have more than one child. And I make sure to tell them that I think they are pretty incredible for doing it all while here I am, hardly holding it together with just one. They usually respond with something nice, like “Oh, c’mon, you have a ton on your plate, or “It’s not that big of a deal,” but I suspect that some of them secretly do think that I am a bit of a wimp.
And hey, maybe I am, but I am a work-life balancing wimp of a very happy, over-suragared, four year-old daughter who is sleeping now with her birtday crown next to her bed and who told me today that she loves to see my happy face. I’ll take it.
Nataly Kogan is the co-founder if Work It, Mom! where she writes a daily blog discussing issues affecting the working Mom.
