Today’s rant was inspired by this quote:
“Today’s middle-class mother is trapped: She can’t afford to work, and she can’t afford to quit.”
Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, The Two-Income Trap
This is not a political post and I did not read this book… I came across this quote when I was researching Elizabeth Warren and her political policies – which now don’t matter because she’s not running for President anymore.
So onto the rant:
One piece of advice some working moms dish out to those who are struggling is to get more help at home (reason #5,454,569,268 to get rid of Instagram). Spending too much time on laundry? Get more help. Washing too many dishes? Get more help. Too little time to spend on self-care? Get more help.
This advice always bothered me. I’m all for getting more help, but just because I work doesn’t mean I can afford to pay the money that this help requires.
Do people always assume that because I am a working mom I can afford to spend money on more help? What about my mortgage? Tuition? Medical expenses?
This notion that working moms hold high-powered, high-paying jobs is not a reality for many of us. Not all of us work because we’re so passionate about out profession we couldn’t imaging doing anything else. Or that we’d be bored if we stayed at home all day. Sometimes we work to make ends-meet. To literally put food on the table.
And let’s say we can afford it… is that what we should be spending money on? What about putting money into an emergency fund? What about saving up for retirement? Why don’t people stress the importance of saving? Maybe that’s a rant for another day…
Back to the topic at hand… STOP telling people that things shouldn’t be hard and for implying things are hard because they aren’t paying for more help.
I don’t want to leave you feeling negative from my rant, so here’s my advice for getting through life’s chores:
- Schedule time to get ’em done – if you plan it out, it’s not as overwhelming. Do a little at a time or schedule a power hour – just do what works for you.
- Prioritize – they don’t all have to be done right this minute. As I tell my husband while we’re rushing out the door in the morning, “the dirty dishes will still be there for me when I get home.”
- Make the best of it – life’s too short to worry about the unimportant. Stop looking at Instagram! Be grateful you have laundry to fold and dishes to wash. It could always be worse!
Until next time,
Shaindy
