“Going to work will refresh you, and make you a better mom when you are with your baby.” “She will look up to you for being a working mom.” “It get’s easier.”
You will hear all of these cliche phrases from well-meaning coworkers trying to help you get through that tough first week back. However, the phrase that helped me through the most, and the phrase I say to you:
“It will be hard.”
Because the truth is, it is hard. Really hard.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated all the people reaching out to me in any way. But what got me through were the friends that understood that I would not be positive about it, at least not that first week (or two), and let me feel that.
You will be sad, and that’s okay.
You will cry on your way to work. And not just that first day, but a random Tuesday 3 weeks later, and that’s okay.
You will scour over your finances more than once to see if there is any way you can stay home, and that’s okay.
You will struggle to find a balance between work and home, and that’s okay.
You will be mentally drained, and that’s okay.
And finally, one day, everything will fall into place. You will feel positive about your choice to be a working mom, and you will agree with those cliche phrases. Going to work does refresh you, and make you a better mom when you’re at home, that you are a strong, working mom, and you know your child will one day look up to you for that, and that it does, in fact, get easier.
Until then, know that whatever you are feeling is okay.
