{"id":80968,"date":"2019-05-01T09:51:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T14:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/?p=80968"},"modified":"2019-05-01T09:51:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T14:51:41","slug":"viral-rant-society-to-working-moms-totally-gets-womens-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/parenting\/essentials\/mothers\/viral-rant-society-to-working-moms-totally-gets-womens-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral Rant \u201cSociety to Working Moms\u201d Totally Gets Women’s Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Working moms around the world finally felt validated. A recent Facebook rant<\/a><\/u> \u00a0titled \u201cSociety to Working Moms,\u201d humorously and openly listed the ridiculous expectations many women carry.<\/p>\n

Much of it was quite relatable to a working mom like me. In fact, I\u2019m writing this while on a three-hour airport layover, flying home from a week of traveling for my full-time job. My dear husband, who skillfully holds down the home front during my quarterly travels, has assured me multiple times that he and the girls are fine without me.<\/p>\n

They are. He\u2019s an attentive father, a hard-working professional himself, and a supportive partner to his working wife. And even though I love my career, and our daughters have always known a full-time working mama, my commitment to 40-plus hours per week does at times inhibit something in me that is instinctually womanly and motherly.<\/p>\n

While we might relate to the Facebook rant\u2019s laundry list of pressures women face, we need to acknowledge it\u2019s more than just \u201csociety\u201d talking to working moms. So I want to examine some of the pressures put on working moms that most of us (and maybe our husbands) have adopted.<\/p>\n

Cultural pressures<\/h2>\n

Societal expectations pressure working moms to measure up to the wrong things. For instance, how society pressures us to be our best domestic selves while also working outside the home.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want this to be a “buy the store-bought cupcakes for goodness\u2019 sake” post. (Even though you totally should. Kindergartners devour sweets in any form.) I\u2019d rather say to all of us, your worth as a woman isn\u2019t based on whether you did or didn\u2019t make homemade treats for your child\u2019s morning snack.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s equally okay if you want to. We\u2019re wired to nurture, to care, to connect, to serve. An easy way to do that is to bake the cake and embrace our child in her classroom.<\/p>\n

To answer another cultural pressure on moms: It is totally fine if you don’t want to, need to, or ever work outside the home. You are fully capable of living a successful, significant life if your work as a woman is always inside your home. Motherhood has gotten a bad rap in our modern culture. There\u2019s nothing glamorous about baby weight, dirty diapers, or postpartum depression. The obvious sacrifice that motherhood requires is steep and undeniable.<\/p>\n

But motherhood is truly a gift God gives women. Taking time to enjoy the little lives God brought into our world is a privilege. Creating a safe, comfortable home for the next generation is quite the honor. Reject society\u2019s pressure to feel like it\u2019s a total overwhelming drag that you\u2019ll never be able to pull off.<\/p>\n

Religious pressures<\/h2>\n

On the same note, I\u2019d be remiss if I only answered the cultural expectations and didn\u2019t answer the oft-implied religious expectations. As a mom, it is totally fine if you want or need to work outside the home. You are fully capable of living a successful, significant life as a Christian mother if your work is also in a professional setting.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay if you want to do that, too. We\u2019re wired to want the best for our kids and then work to create opportunities for them in the plethora of strategic, multitasking ways God provides for us. One way to do that is enduring the work that funds their livelihood. Don\u2019t accept a legalistic pressure to let working-mom guilt ruin the non-work days you do have with your children.<\/p>\n

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Family pressures<\/h2>\n

The Facebook user writes that mothers are \u201cSanta Claus, the Easter bunny, the Tooth fairy, the birthday planner \u2026 the finder of lost things, the moderator of fights. Be fun. Be firm.\u201d She writes women maintain the family schedule\u2014birthday parties, swim lessons, music lessons. Teaching them to ride a bike and to \u201cbe a good human being. Eat vegetables. Wear sunscreen. Drink enough water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do women really have to be all of this? Or do we just think we do? (And maybe even like our way of doing it?)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll confess that I originally planned to make a homemade lasagna to put in the freezer for my absence at my family\u2019s Friday night dinner. When my Tuesday work meeting lasted longer than expected, I didn\u2019t have time. I was forced to opt for Trader Joe\u2019s version instead.<\/p>\n

And you know what? I was the only one who cared! My family had dinner. They were nourished and my hands had nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n

With all of these imposed family pressures, I\u2019ve learned to ask myself: \u201cWhat will happen if I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

What if I don\u2019t:<\/p>\n