Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Working Mommy Wednesday...


I am linking up with Work, Wife,Mom...Life! on Working Mommy Wednesday.  This week's prompt...talk about a momemt of Mommy guilt (and how you pulled through).

I appreciate the distinction between real guilt and referred guilt made by Julia at Work, Wife, Mom...Life!.  There are people I know who bombard me with referred guilt and over the years I have gotten a bit better at not assuming that guilt for myself.  One of the strongest real guilt situations I experience is my lack of patience, at the end of long days, for my kids. 

I hate the feeling that work has gotten the best of me...literally!  That all my laughter, patience, tolerance and creativity was used up on other people's children and there isn't any left for my own.  I hate the evenings when all I have is frustration and pickiness or worse The Yelling Mom

One of the ways I have found patience is to workout in the mornings.  Strangely, sacrificing an hour of sleep to spend sweating gives my body more patience at the end of the day.  It helps that I have friends at the gym, so it's a social hour for me, and time spent on me (even though it's really early!) 

Another strategy that works for me is to recognize those days when I am at the end of my rope.  If my husband is home, I'll let him know that I am going to be home a little late and I drive through Starbucks and park by the river on my way home.  A stolen half hour reading and enjoying a cup of coffee in the truck helps me put my work day behind me and look forward to family time.  If my husband is at work, and it's just me and the boys, I plan something special.  I take them swimming or we go out to dinner...something to change the routine and give me time to enjoy the kids without looking at everything that needs to be done in the house. 

What are your Mommy guilt moments?  How do you deal with them?

7 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm new here from Julia's page. Those are some great ideas! I especially like the one about taking a little break before coming home to decompress. Mine trick is to eat a snack before coming home so I don't fly in the door ravenous and irritable.

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  2. The snack is a great idea too!

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  3. Great ideas on handling frustrations ...Somedays it is hard but I try for those say things never bring work home with me and 98% of the time i succeed but the other 2% I end up a fool and feel bad

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  4. I also found your though the working mommy network!

    I tagged you in photo challenge. But don't feel guilty if you can't get to it! ;)

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  5. i love your ideas!! fantastic post! stopping by on the way home is a great idea. except i'm always too excited to get home to my kids!!! ;)

    hey, how did you get YOUR comment here on your blog a different color? i love that idea!

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  6. I followed a tutorial at Adori Graphics to highlight my comments. There is a button to her website on my sidebar :)

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  7. Work doesn't get me down, it's the drive home on the freeway with a bunch of dummies that are busy doing things other than driving. In December, I find that Christmas music keeps me mellow on the road. At other times of the year I listen to Santana or Los Lonely Boys which has the same effect on me. So when I'm entering the freeway behind someone that thinks 30 MPH is the proper speed to enter a freeway, I pop in the CD and the wrinkles immediately leave the forehead. P.S. If that doesn't work, there's always beer in the fridge when I get home. YAHOO! Attitude Adjustmnet Hour.

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