Me Time

Because we all have loads of time to kill in the mornings, don't we?

*Cross-posted from MommyWorks*

I have until 9am to get to work every morning. I start at 9 and finish at 4. I finish off the day with an hour of work at home. A relatively laid back deal compared with most other working moms, I know.

We're all usually out the door by 7.15. I drop Jonah off at his school and then we're on the road again by 7.30, on the way to James and Hannah's school.

We get there by 7.50ish. I usually walk J & H to the gate and kiss them goodbye and I'm in the car again by 7.55/8. Then it's the long haul to work, which can take anywhere between 40 and 55 minutes in the traffic.

Last week, we received a notice from the primary school saying that winter uniform trousers must be pre-ordered from the school shop. The school has recently changed its entire uniform, so we're required to spend a small fortune kitting out the kiddies for each season. It's not as simple as that, though: you have to bring your children to the shop in order for them to try the stuff on and ensure it all fits.

The school shop is open twice a week, between the fantastically convenient hours of 8 and 8.30. Seriously: who has time to fart around at that time on a weekday? But, because I'm conscientious and because I'm leaving soon for 2.5 months, I decided to suck it up this morning and go to the shop. I told James to go his class, tell his teacher where he was going, and meet me at the shop. I took Hannah to her class and told the teacher where we were going. By this time, it was 8.05.

We did the trying on and the ordering and were out of there by 8.10. I said goodbye to them and decided that, because I was making fairly good time, I should go to the secretary and ask about violin lessons, in which Hannah recently expressed an interest.

I waited for the secretary to get off the phone for a further 5 minutes or so. She didn't. Eventually, another staff member asked whether I needed help and I told her why I'd come. She referred me to another secretary's office, just outside the door. I walked over there and was told to wait while this secretary finished what she was doing. She kept me waiting for a further 5 minutes. In the end, she told me to write a letter stating that Hannah wants violin lessons.

I then started the trek to the back gate where my car was parked. I got there, only to find that it was locked! I walked around to the front of the school and then walked alllllllll the way around the outside of the school to my car. By now, it was 8.25.

Don't you just love how schools operate? Everything within working hours, and you have to be late for work in order to be involved in your child's education.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Introducing MommyWorks

A while ago, I created a group called Working Moms on South Africa's wonderful Your Parenting ning site. We're currently up to 35 members and so far, we've had some interesting conversations.

I wanted more, though: more interaction, more control (control freak that I am) and more freedom to customise the look and feel. Soooo, I've created a separate ning site called MommyWorks, for South African working moms. There's space for you to write blog and forum posts and I've included a MommyWorks Question of the Week and a Resources for South African Moms section. I'm so enjoying this! Come and join us: http://mommyworks.ning.com

But do I want to be a "happy homemaker"?

I subscribe to a feed for the keywords "working moms" and "working mothers". I recently came across this article, which made my eyeballs itch with irritation. Instead of letting it all fester inside me, I thought I'd respond here:

Dear Angela van Boxtel

Thanks for your article. Charming tone. You really know how to make a working mom's day.

May I make a suggestion? Next time you want to publish something that will appear on the internet and be read by people all over the world, try getting your facts straight first. Better yet, next time, try not publishing at all.

You come across as somewhat aggressive in your article. Did you mean to do that? Not only that, but you also sounded terribly smug. Look at me, you seem to be saying: I love my children more than you do, because I don't work outside the home.

Lovely.

I'll respond, if you don't mind, to a few things you said:

"I'm a mother of four boys aged between one and 12. I do not have a so-called career. My life, including my family, is my career."

That's terribly nice for you, but you know what? I have two 'so-called' careers: my paid job and my family. I can multi-task. What about you?

"I work from home so I can be around my children and have both lives"

Well, bully for you for having two lives, whatever that means. I've been working towards working from home for several years now and I still haven't managed to get it right. Well done for taking the leap.

"I've made choices so my children are my first priority in life and that means being there for them."

This kind of statement is just plain mean. What? You think women who work don't see their children as their priority? Stop congratulating yourself and look around - we all love our children.

"I do not have a mortgage. My husband and I and our four kids (six of us in all) share a three-bed apartment and one of those rooms is our office."

Well done for not having a mortgage. Now try buying a house in South Africa and paying it off in one lifetime. It's impossible, dear.

"We never go on holidays or weekends away."

Um, neither do we, but only because the inflation rate here is so insane that we can't afford anything anymore.

"My children are schooled by public education, not expensive private schools."

Which is so lovely for your children and you, especially since public education in your country is free. Here? We're paying around R2500,00 per month for public education for two children. Who needs to work to pay for that, right?

"The six of us share one computer, not three or four like some households."

May I point something out? The picture you're painting of 'making do with less' is actually one of standard middle-class living and in some countries, like mine, one of extreme wealth. You have a car, a computer, 3 bedrooms, a garden and a television? That's far more than most South Africans will ever dream of having.

"Your children are your gifts and they are here to be enjoyed. Yes mums, you're natural yearnings to be with your child are right."

I won't comment on your vitriol here. I'll just say this: "you're" is supposed to be spelled "your".

Who were you really addressing when you wrote this article? Because if you didn't mean it to be taken to heart by most working moms, then you probably shouldn't have generalised so. It would have been far wiser to have spoken directly to the women who offend you so much by earning enough money to buy big houses and 4 computers.

 

Yours in irritation,
Janine

The Art of Multi-tasking

I was running late this morning and I hadn't yet read the school notices that James brought home yesterday. So I took them into the bathroom with me and read them while bathing.

Multi-tasking anyone?

What's your favourite/most bizarre multi-tasking moment?