Una madre trabajadora cuenta qué se siente al compaginar responsabilidades familiares y laborales

Mi vida cambió radicalmente cuando tuve a mi hijo. No tenía tiempo para nada. Days revolved around satisfying the baby’s needs – I would be happy if I could find time to wash my hair.

Recordé aquellos días en los que sólo estábamos nosotros dos, mi maridito y yo, y me couldn’t figure out how I had a hard time organizing my schedule before I had kids. ¡Cómo me atreví a pensar que estaba ocupado y cansado!

Ser padre es un trabajo a tiempo completo. Cuando añades otro trabajo a tiempo completo a tu agenda diaria, te metes en un torbellino de innumerables responsabilidades.

I’ve been exhausted for years trying to hacer tantas cosas en 24 horas. That’s why I get so frustrated and on the edge of tears every time one of my single colleagues shows a lack of understanding for my behavior at the office.

¿Por qué las madres tienen una agenda tan apretada?

Después de un día muy duro en el trabajo, cuando mi jefe me dijo que parecía distraída, llegué a casa sintiéndome muy mal. Cuando mis hijos se durmieron Me sentí desesperada e intenté ver si alguien más sentía lo mismo que yo.

Google led me to Jamie Johnson’s blog donde podía leer todo sobre los retos diarios a los que se enfrenta como madre trabajadora.

She’s a mother of two boys and she’s sharing her experience in balancing her private and work life. ¡Esta mujer cuenta mi historia!

Una de las entradas del blog contiene una divertida recopilación de sus pensamientos respecto a ciertas situaciones de oficina. Empieza a explicar por qué no puede hacer horas extras:

“Please stop judging me for leaving the office at exactly 5 pm, but my kids are waiting to be picked up from the sitter”

Sí, la gente sin hijos se olvida de que las niñeras y las guarderías tienen horario de cierre y se espera que lleguemos puntuales a recoger a nuestros hijos. Pocas veces he llegado tarde y no les ha hecho ninguna gracia. Los horarios de apertura también influyen en nuestra capacidad para llegar a tiempo al trabajo:

“I know I was late today, but I can’t drop the baby off at daycare until 7:45 am.”

¿Fracasamos como madres si trabajamos a tiempo completo?

When our babies are sick we become so worried that it blurs out our mental capabilities and attention span. I feel guilty for being at the office while feeling it was necessary to take the kid to the doctor immediately. “Am I a good mother?” – one of the questions that pops up occasionally.

“I know that I seem distracted, because I am distracted. I have a sick toddler and I am waiting to find out when I can get him into the pediatrician.”

Feeling so overwhelmed with all the emotions my son passes on to me on a daily basis, plus all the usual stress at work, boy it all makes me so edgy sometimes so I don’t notice if my verbal or written communication sounds wrong. This is a great example and I can fully empathize:

“I didn’t mean for my email to seem snippy, but I have a five-year old that cried this morning because he didn’t want to go to school, and I am worried about him.”

Estimados empresarios, ¡tengan compasión!

Cuando durante la entrevista inicial mi el empleador me confirmó que es un entorno de trabajo favorable a las madres Me sentí como si me hubiera tocado la lotería. That was the main thing I was looking for in a company I would work for – to have understanding and flexibility for my family and the kids-related responsibilities.

Jamie escribió un maravilloso agradecimiento a sus antiguos jefes:

“Thank you to every boss that has let me leave for doctor’s appointments, unexpected sicknesses, preschool graduations and school lunches.”

I caught myself working harder than my coworkers as I felt guilty for coming and leaving at the exact time of stated working hours. That’s why I almost cried over this:

“I understand that you feel like you need to overcompensate because you get to work just on time and leave the minute the clock strikes five.”

If you’re worried about how work will affect your kids and feel torn between your personal life and work duties read what Jamie has to say about it (while hugging my son I can say I fully agree!):

“You don’t have to choose between two worlds that you love. You can have them both. You can have a family and a career. It’s not easy, but it is possible.”

If you’re a working mom you’ll easily identify with all that Jamie wrote. Many women surely do! Have a look at some of the supportive comments on her post:

“I’m a full-time mom also, which means I have TWO full-time jobs. Coming home from work is just walking into another career. Like you, I’m just thankful that there are some people out here who have operated with grace over the years. Luckily, I think most people understand how chaotic having little kids can be.”

Este comentario te dará una idea de cómo las altas expectativas ponen a las madres trabajadoras en un ritmo seriamente agitado:

“I love this thank you letter sooo much!!! Thank YOU for sharing. As womxn we ALL juggle way too much, thanks to a go go more more culture and patriarchal work environments that are asking us to prove ourselves daily. Prove you’re smart enough, committed enough, work hard enough, focused enough. Don’t rest, admit weakness, show outside interests, show health problems, family troubles, mental health stuff. Just be a committed cog and do your best every moment of a 50+ hr week.”

Some of the comments, however, proved why it’s important to share stories like this as some people show an upsetting lack of understanding, such as this one:

“Do your job and don’t leave your slack for others. I don’t expect you to cover for my leftovers, learn everything for me from the meetings I missed, or reschedule around my outside life. Why should anyone have to cover for your life choices?”