Sunday, January 5, 2014

Working Moms Don't Iron Tablecloths




There are many resources for stay-at-home moms.  There are reams written to justify the executive working mom.   What of the regular, middle-class working moms?  Where are the bloggers, experts and articles catering to the working moms that have to work or choose to work so that their families can have a middle-class income?

Here is what I believe: working moms don’t have time to blog or become an expert on balancing both work and family.  They are baptized in the fiery schedule of working, family, housework, meals and extracurricular activities.  I am one of those middle-class working moms.  I am terribly grateful for my husband’s sacrifice in pay for my education degree.  My degree and subsequent employment at our local public school has been the financial stability we needed over the last decade of economic depression. 

Here is a list of things I don’t do that my fraternal grandmother spent time doing:

Working Moms don’t…
1.     iron tablecloths
2.     iron sheets
3.     iron shirts or pants
4.     hand mop the kitchen floor
5.     wipe down baseboards
6.     bake homemade cookies
7.     make cupcakes for school birthday parties
8.     mend/darn socks
9.     make bread from scratch
10. homeschool their children

Working moms are happy to have a warm meal on a clean tablecloth; unironed!
Working moms are relieved that the sheets are dry by bedtime.
Working moms are masters of using a damp cloth, dryer sheet and the “dewrinkle” setting on the dryer.
Working moms use swiffers (or a damp rag and their foot).
Working moms scrub baseboards when it’s time to repaint them.
Working moms buy cookies at the grocery store in a tube of doughy yumminess.
Working moms are proud to stimulate the economy and buy cupcakes at the bakery.
Working moms can’t find the match to the holey sock anyway.
Working moms use their bread machines or visit the bakery on the way home (again).
Working moms trust the school systems to give their kids a solid education of basics.



Working moms are masters at short cuts and paring down life to its most essential
Working moms have good kids that are independent, confident team players.
Working moms have mad skills at work and at home.