I Salute You - The Working Woman
There are times I really marvel at how the hell people do it. This is not the life we wanted. As I sit in bumper to freaking bumper traffic and peer into minivans I see parents with toddlers strapped in, transporting their toddlers to daycare and then off to 8 hours work.
So. We work 8 hours, spend perhaps an hour in traffic, get home, relax a bit, go to bed. Rinse, lather, and repeat.
Get up at what 6, into traffic by 7 – 7:30, work all day home by 6:00, supper, and maybe relax for a couple of hours. So 12 hours running the freak around (preparing) and going and coming from work. Maybe a couple of hours of you time, relaxing or engaging in a passion…or maybe not…too tired. Too stressed.
And I believe that women have a much more nurturing soul so they tend to bear the brunt of the child rearing chores. And most working, child-rearing women are crying out for SOME peace and time to themselves.
Life is hard. There is no getting around it. What to do?
First off the government and big business continue to be great bedfellows so the wonderful idea of going to 7 hours a day of work, or a four-day workweek standard is next to impossible.
And having a wonderful career is bullshit. Your job gives you the money to do what you REALLY want to do in life. Be it paint or play the piano or help animals. For most of us our job is a job. Perhaps baseball players are in love with their career and pay check. So the trick is to at least like your job. It is rarely your passion.
We are certainly not working the 27-hour workweek we predicted a few years ago. And our company can toss us on the street any old time. Do we really want to stay there?
You want to find balance? Sorry balance these days is non – existent. It’s a rat race in the job market. The higher up the ladder, the more hours required. The solution is to be fully present for yourself and the family outside of the job. Live in the moment. Find joy in the little things. Always leave the office at the office.
Did you really want to have children? Because for the most part it won’t bring you constant happiness. Not even close. It does give you plenty of sacrifice, and turmoil especially during the teenage years. Studies have proven that people are happiest when the kids move out. Having kids at the right time, or just having them is a huge decision. Pretty grim picture eh? Yup. There has got to be a better way. That is one of the things I’m working on for my website. Especially for working mothers.
We all need our own space at times, our own slice of peace, or own time to dabble in a passion.
To you working mothers ….I salute you.
In summary
1. Finding true happiness and joy through your career is usually a myth. What most of us have is a job. Learn to like your job, and dabble in your passions outside of your job.
2. Having children doesn’t equate to years of joy and happiness for you. It takes plenty of self-sacrifice and work to raise healthy and well-adjusted children. Finding some peace and time for yourself is a top priority for yourself. Your kids won’t give you peace and time space.
3. Sorry, balance these days is non – existent. But you can be fully present and joyful outside of work. Don’t even dare to think about it.
4. Do you really want to stay there?
About the Author
Terry Vermeylen is one of those rare people that is passionately driven to help others unlock their own barriers toward fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He is the founder of http://www.mylifechanges.com/, an Internet value identification and goal setting enterprise.
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