The Curse of the Working Mother

Christmas can bring out the best and the worst in people.  Working in a shopping centre, you tend to see the myriad of emotions that the “holidays” brings out in people. Being a Mum who works a full time paid job as well as my usual Mummy full time unpaid job (paid in love that is) , I feel like I miss out on spending time with my kids while they are on holidays, and they miss out too by being put in vacation care or being looked after by other family members here and there. In my head and on the magical world of Facebook, I see other Mums spending ‘quality time’ with their kids on the holidays; going to the beach, baking yummy treats, smiles and laughs, hugs and kisses, a perfect picture of family bliss and domestic harmony. It kinda does my head in and that good ol’ mother guilt comes creeping in, not to mention the green eyed monster. It kinda breaks my heart. Until...I venture out into the shopping centre in my lunch break; screaming babies, tantrum throwing toddlers, car park scuffles, trolley wars, frazzled mothers with a crazed look in their eyes. Most of us live in the delicate balance of these two extremes, while juggling work and our roles as mother and partner/wife. The curse of the working mother is that there never seems enough time. Time is such a precious commodity, no matter what age your children are and sometimes Mums who get to spend the whole holidays with their children can tend to forget that as the fighting and whinging fills their ears and makes their head ache. Christmas reminds us of this, more than any other time of year. So if you see a lady sitting behind a counter with a sad, wistful look in her eyes as she watches your 4 year old throwing themselves on the ground at your feet, never underestimate the power of a smile. We are all in this together.
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