Being a Woman is Hard

This is my first week back to work. I really have the most ideal work situation. My mom watches Samantha, I work from my parents house two days a week, go into the office two days a week and have Fridays off. I keep saying that I wouldn't be able to leave Samantha with anyone but my mom, but the truth is, everyone does what they have to do. Lucky for me, I have an extraordinary mom and employer who are both helping me create a great arrangement.

I have to say that once again I have been struck by how difficult it is to be a woman. I don't want this to be a complaining rant but rather an explanation of how much we should appreciate women. We carry children for 10 months and go through difficult labors. We learn to breast feed and wake in the night often to care for our children. We have a profound attachment to our children and love them like crazy. We bathe them and sing to them and interact with them all day long. For some of us, we return to work where we drop kids off at daycare, pack lunches, pump milk on our breaks and still miss our babies so much we want to cry.

After having Samantha I have such an appreciation for my own mother and for other moms I know. There is nothing like a mother's love, like her dedication to children and to everything that is involved. It is hard work but worth it. Moms don't get enough credit and we don't tell our friends, our sisters, our moms, our grandmas how much we admire them. Do me a favor today and tell a mom somewhere what a great job she is doing.