Things I love about being a working mom

I have a really great job – and it worked out in the only way that would have made me a working mom right now.

I work every afternoon, and I’m with a real estate investor as an assistant – doing a bit of everything. And I really love that. It seems unpopular to say this, but aside from loving the paycheck and the functions of my job, there are things I really do love about being a working mom.

1. Getting dressed. I’m not a girly girl. I am a jeans & t-shirt type, and I’m totally not into fashion. But a required shower & get ready kind of job is good for me. I like getting ready and going somewhere that yoga pants aren't appropriate.
2. Personal space. This might be the hardest part of motherhood for me. The little people touching me constantly. They want my lap, they want to see what happens when they touch my nose. They pull on my shirt to make me follow them. They insist on being carried from the bathroom to the bedroom. They poke my eyes, and head-butt me when I do it wrong. They want to help me stir, cut, & move the food. Wrestle-mania is their favorite part of the day. They can't read a book unless they are sitting on top of me. Both of them. I feel like I’m going to split in two because they’re always always pulling on me. And I hate that.
   But at work (the sun just came out as I typed this...appropriate), I typically go 5 straight hours with no physical contact at all. Occasionally there’s a handshake, but nobody touches my face or my clothes and nobody wants to sit in my chair and nobody breaths in my ears. And that is a thing of beauty.
3. Air conditioning. This summer  could easily be the death of me if I didn't get my 5 hour fix of cool dry air every day. Coming home to my soggy swamp cooler house reminds me just how much I love my comfortable office.
4. I think. At home it's all letters, numbers, colors & shapes. At work it's all accounting, marketing, operations & summaries. It's not that I don't know my preschool information (though when Tommy asks me what yellow & purple make I wonder....is "gross" the right answer? Because it feels right...), it's just that I'm much better at doing the work stuff than I am at teaching the preschool stuff. 
5. Driving alone. I'm learning new songs, I know what's happening "out there" because of the 30 second news breaks. I roll my windows down when I want to and blast the a/c when I feel like it. Nobody whines or kicks the back of my seat. Nobody tells me they want an ice cream cone (though I often stop for one anyway) and nobody expects anything of me. For 12 glorious minutes/day I rock the minivan alone.
6. Coming home. It's true. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And though I never get to enjoy John's nap or get anything done around here, it's nice to come home having missed my boys.