Full-time Working Moms???

[Barb D]

I work full time. I was part time until a couple of years ago; in fact, I homeschooled my older kids while working 30 hours a week. My kids are now 15, 13 and 6, and my mom helps me enormously.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I work full-time, 40+ hours per week in an office, and I am a single mom with DD's ages 2 and 7. Thank goodness my mom lives in town, so she watches my girls for me while I work. It is tough because we don't have a lot of time together, but we make the most of the evenings and weekends.

 

[HayGan]

I am a full time working mom who gets to work from home 2 days per week I work as a strategy consultant in the metals and mining industry.

 

[daisyduck123]

I'm a teacher.. .so I work full-time for 10 months of the year & get 8 weeks off in the summer. If I had to work year-round & put my kids in day-care over the summer, then I would not work. Our summers together are so precious to me.

With my schedule, I've been able to work it out that my kids have never had to go to daycare, before or after school.

 

[Blondy876]

I work full time but I am a teacher so I have all the school holidays and summer off. I don't think I could work full time if I didn't know I would have some down time throughout the year. I just don't know when I would get everything done. BTW my kids are almost 2 and 7.

 

[lyzziesmom]

If I had to work year-round & put my kids in day-care over the summer, then I would not work.

Unfortunately, for some of us "not working" is not an option. Well technically it is, but I have grown rather fond of having a home.

 

[Minnie824]

I work full time plus. That means, I'm expected to work overtime as well, many nights a week when my kids go to bed. Its really difficult, especially since I know a handful of other women in my town that work. Only 1 of my neighbors works. Everyone else is outside all day, going to the gym, going shopping. Its hard to have playdates for my kids, hard to find classes to sign them up for. I guess everyone just assumes that 'mom' doesn't work.

 

[paigevz]

Another teacher here, right at this moment I'm a stay at home mom.........come August, I'll be back at work. This year's gonna be a doozy as our school was low-performing so our principal will be on the warpath! I am sure I'll be working some crazy hours.....we already heard our Meet the Teacher night will be on Sunday this year......was really glad I had already planned to put my younger son in fulltime daycare/preschool so I can stay late and be "on board"!

 

[clutter]

Unfortunately, for some of us "not working" is not an option. Well technically it is, but I have grown rather fond of having a home.

Yep. Then we'd read about how awful us lazy welfare moms are!!!

 

[PattnFmly]

I'm a secretary, part-time, 30 hrs/week. Worked full-time until my 2nd DS, was born. My DH works 3rd shift 11-7 and cares for the kids in the daytime. But he does need to sleep sometime! So I switched to part-time and he gets to go to sleep after I get home and through the evening. I never see him, and we both have the kids alone when we have them, but it works!

 

[clutter]

Unfortunately, for some of us "not working" is not an option. Well technically it is, but I have grown rather fond of having a home.

Yep. Then we'd read about how awful us lazy welfare moms are!!!

Another single mom here of my dd, 9. I work 25 miles from home, and most of my school is sahms. It's tough, but the only reason that we can afford to live here in this neighborhood is because I have my really really wonderful job.

During the school year, when after-care is less expensive, I have a college student come in the mornings so I can get to work earlier and my dd gets a little more time at home. I hate summers because camps cost a full load, and I can't see paying for supplemental sitters. (and my sitters are all currently spread out all over the world for their summers.) So my poor kid has to get to bed earlier in the summer than during the school year. That's twisted!

 

[kimwim8]

I work 36 hours outside of the home. Getting closer and closer to 40 hours, but I'm not ready to commit to that yet! I'm very fortunate to have a laptop at home set up that I can get into the work network, in case of a sick kid or some other situation that would not allow me to get into the office. That helps me save up some of my vacation time for actual vacations!

Cool thread! Sometimes I really think I'm the only working mom out there (when holding conversations with the mothers of my kids' friends).

 

[WendyDarling]

Full time worker and single mom checking in here...

 

[Nancy]

I started to work FT when my youngest was 5 years old. At that time I worked the overnight shift so I was home during the day and Dad was with them at night. I went to days when my youngest was 8. I'm lucky I work for a really family orientated company and they never give me a hard time about anything if the kids were involved. I am also lucky that I do my own schedule so I can work around whatever is going on in the girls lives. Has it always been easy? No. When I worked overnight if there were problems like the kids being sick in the middle of the night I couldn't leave because I was the only one on the front end of the store of that time.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I work full-time outside the home.

 

[jenntish]

It's amazing to me how we've all made it work. I too feel alone much of the time... I only have ONE other Mom friend who works full-time. Everyone else has chosen to stay home full time (or go back to work on a VERY part time basis... like 2 6 hour days per week, because they are so passionate about what they do). I could care less about what I do... I'm actually incredibly disinterested in my job that I can't motivate most of the time! But I work in sales and can make good money AND work from home... so I just try to focus on the positives.

But it can get so upsetting when my Full-time SAHM mom friends complain that they have too MANY activities or other friends in their playgroup. My son is 2 and we've never been to a playgroup

It's also great to see how other people like us have wacky schedules to make it work. My husband leaves for work at 1:45am and gets home at around 11am... so he spends the afternoons with my son (who then only has to be in daycare from 9am - 2:30pm). It's tough never having 'alone' time as a couple.

Lastly, I just want to say how incredibly awed I am by the working single Moms out there. You should all be so proud of yourselves. I don't know how you do it. As your kids get older they will worship you for the sacrifices you've made.

Too bad we're all scattered around the country (and world!) so we can't have a 'playgroup' of our own...

 

[lyzziesmom]

I just want to say how incredibly awed I am by the working single Moms out there. You should all be so proud of yourselves. I don't know how you do it. As your kids get older they will worship you for the sacrifices you've made.

Thank you SO much for this! It seems that too often nobody notices us single moms. It drives me nuts when people just assume that I am married because they see me with children. Also I hate that my kids can't participate in so many activities because they are scheduled during working hours. Summer movie series? Can't go. Girl scouts? Not in my hometown - it's right after school. Playdates? Nope. Dance class? Nada. Sports? Another no-go. If they are able to participate in anything, my mom has to take them and I miss out on all of it.

Any my social life? Ha! That's a joke. I have to take the kids with me everywhere. I can not afford to pay a babysitter, don't have friends with kids to swap babysitting nights, and since Mom watches my kids while I work, she doesn't really want to watch them "extra."

It's both physically and emotionally draining to be both parents at once. It is not a situation I would have chosen to get into, however, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I just wish more people would realize how lucky they are to not "have" to work, or to be able to spend time with their kids whenever they want to. It drives me bananas to see friends who have kids and don't work, who put their kids in daycare because they don't know what else to do with them. Be grateful for the time with your children, they are only young once!

 

[Bob Slydell]

I voted for my DW -- she's a full time (and then some) working mom. We have two boys, 5 and 1. She's a partner with a Big 4 accounting firm. During her busy time, she's been known to work upwards of 100+ hours a week. What makes it work for us is that I have a (somewhat) flexible job, one which allows me to have more reasonable hours so that I can get in early and leave early to pick up the kids at school.

 

[offwegotoneverland]

Full time commercial banker...includes community "profile" work as well outside regular hours.

DS likes the grand openings and open houses though as he gets cake at those...

 

[lindakmonty]

Thank you SO much for this! It seems that too often nobody notices us single moms. It drives me nuts when people just assume that I am married because they see me with children. Also I hate that my kids can't participate in so many activities because they are scheduled during working hours. Summer movie series? Can't go. Girl scouts? Not in my hometown - it's right after school. Playdates? Nope. Dance class? Nada. Sports? Another no-go. If they are able to participate in anything, my mom has to take them and I miss out on all of it.

Any my social life? Ha! That's a joke. I have to take the kids with me everywhere. I can not afford to pay a babysitter, don't have friends with kids to swap babysitting nights, and since Mom watches my kids while I work, she doesn't really want to watch them "extra."

It's both physically and emotionally draining to be both parents at once. It is not a situation I would have chosen to get into, however, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I just wish more people would realize how lucky they are to not "have" to work, or to be able to spend time with their kids whenever they want to. It drives me bananas to see friends who have kids and don't work, who put their kids in daycare because they don't know what else to do with them. Be grateful for the time with your children, they are only young once!

I'm not sure where you live but I'd help you out! There are quite a few of us here from central Ohio...I know how you feel. Although I was married to my ds5's father for almost 9 years it sure felt like I was single. He didn't help AT ALL!!! I work in Columbus 75 miles from home so I'm gone 12 hrs a day. I had to take care of ds, work ft, take care of the house and pay all the bills. He worked too but he took out the trash and mowed the grass. Literally that was it. He then became abusive to us on top of that so I left him. That was almost 3 years ago...I was a single mom for about a year... it wasn't that much harder for me since I was already doing it all. My dad came over and took out the trash and mowed so actually I was ahead of the game, less laundry, dishes and no crap to put up with!!! Then my sister asked me to borrow my garage for a garage sale...one of the items she was selling was a hot tub...and that's how I met my dh he came to the sale!!!! Crazy huh.And he hated garage sales, a buddy talked him into going! I thought I'd be a single mom for a long time...I'm never home and when I am I spend it w/ds!...God works in mysterious ways. Now... my dh was a total godsend... he does the cooking, the cleaning...had dinner on the table for ME... watches ds for me during the day... wow what a total 180 my life has taken in the last year or two!! dh is retiring from the military this month..he's 44. If you need someone to talk to... I'm here for ya! seriously! I know how stressful it can be!

working and being gone 12 hrs a day w/ds5....I hate it. Its minimum of 3 hours a day driving and $100 a week in gas... it pays good but would love to telecommute or get a different job. I'd like to go back to be a nurse practitioner but hate to give up the paycheck now. Might be cutting my hours and try to go to school at the same time. or quit all together.