Moms come in all shapes and sizes -- divorced, young, old, working, stay-at-home, one kid, lots of kids...But we all want to believe that we are doing a good job.
Parenting

Say, You’re Doing A Good Job

Moms come in all shapes and sizes -- divorced, young, old, working, stay-at-home, one kid, lots of kids...But we all want to believe that we are doing a good job.

By Ghada Karam of Confidential Mommy Talks 

I’m in my early twenties and I’m a single mom. My boyfriend freaked out when he heard about my pregnancy and vanished from this planet. Maybe he moved to Mars? We will never know. At this stage, I don’t even care anymore. I just know that I had to drop out of college because I needed to pay the bills. I worked from home for the first four years because this was the only way I could stay with my baby without having to pay for a sitter. Now that my daughter goes to school, I have a part-time job that helps us out a little more. I finally got to buy my daughter the bicycle she’s always wanted.

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I’m in my mid-thirties and I have four kids. My husband and I both love kids. This meant that I had to quit my job because no one wanted to hire a woman who keeps going on maternity leave. So now that my youngest is six and all of my kids go to school, this makes me question my decisions. Was I right to favor having a family over keeping my career? They still need me when they come back from school. But how long will this last?

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I’m in my early forties and I became the mom of triplets eight months ago. I had to go through many, many fertility treatments before I got pregnant and when I did, they recommended that I keep only two embryos (having three embryos is too risky and stuff like that), but I didn’t want to listen to them. They are my kids. I waited so long to get them, and giving up even one was out of the question. Having triplets means that I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a very long time. I don’t have time to socialize with my friends. As a matter of fact, I haven’t even seen my husband since… Well, I don’t remember when anymore (if you see him, say hello). I’m exhausted, I’m hungry, but I’m happy. I’m a mom.

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I’m in my late thirties, I have two kids and I’ve just signed divorce papers. I work long hours and I have to make sure that my two wild teenagers at home have food to eat, that they complete their homework, and that they don’t spend their days glued to a screen (because face-to-face interaction still happens in the early 21st century). Basically, I just want to make sure that these two don’t turn out like their dad.

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I’m in my early thirties, I’m a working mom and I have spent very little time with my daughter since her birth two years ago. I can’t wait for the work day to finish so I can rush home to hug and kiss her. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job, but I like my daughter even more, and if my boss can’t get that, then too bad for him. Between my daughter and him, my choice is set.

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I’m in my late twenties, I have two kids and I decided to quit my job to spend time with them. When the first one was born, I couldn’t handle the pressure of being good at work, good at home, good at everything. Less is more, so I decided to be bad at work and quit my job. People think I have the luxury of spending my days polishing my nails and getting massages. I’d like to invite these people to my house so they can see how much work two little ones can make me do. Two kids under two is a lot.

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I’m in my mid-thirties, I have two sons and I am now pregnant with a little girl. My first two kids are two and three, and I’ve never felt as tired as I am now. This pregnancy is the most tiring, as I now have to run after two boys that never seem to sit for longer than ten seconds. I can’t wait for my daughter to be four so we can do some girly things together, because I just can’t be surrounded by three boys anymore (my husband included). This is too stressful, too noisy, and too hazardous.

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I come in different ages, different sizes and shapes, but my common denominator is that I’m a mom. I’m tired, I’m frustrated, I’m sleep-deprived, I’m anxious, and sometimes I even forget to take care of myself, so it will be very, very rewarding to me if you can just look me in the eyes, smile and say: You’re doing a good job.

It’ll make my day.

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About the Author

Ghada Karam is a first-time mom who lives in Bangkok with her husband and her two-year old daughter. She enjoys gossiping about being a mom and about her daughter’s tantrums. She thinks tantrums are great. They spice-up her day. Her work has also appeared on BLUNTmoms, Bonbon Break, BKK Kids, Mamapedia, Sammiches and Psych Meds and Coffee Table Confessions. You can follow her latest news at Confidential Mommy Talks, or get in touch with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.