No mother should ever have to say sorry for being herself at work. WHY? Because you NEVER turn off being a mom. And nothing against working dads, (this doesn’t apply to all and my husband will back me up) when a dad walks in the door or logs on to his computer. He engages WORK MODE! And that’s it. That doesn’t happen with mom’s you are constantly thinking about your family. It’s called the cognitive load- What you are having for dinner, how are you going to fit putting fuel in the car between leaving work and the school run. Especially when you know that you are already called a clock watcher- because if you leave 2 minutes later, you get caught in traffic or can’t find a parking, and then you are late… AGAIN and having to face the teacher that is shaking her head, thinking, why can’t this mother be on time. And then your child- who has watched all their friends be collected on time and done the walk of shame to the office to wait AGAIN). We are expected to work as though we don’t have little humans relying on us but also to switch to mommy as though we don’t have to worry about work. Which in this day and age of mobile phones, laptops and working from home is another story.
I found this article and it articulates it far better than I ever could.
So, my point is, please don’t judge me for running in the door a few minutes late (my child tripped on her way into school, and I had to comfort her first) I may have a splash of toothpaste on my skirt (my little human, gave me a big squishy hug after brushing her teeth) I have already done half a day’s work, just getting the household ready and off to school. So, give me a moment to breath and make a cup of coffee (its probably the only hot one I will have today) and then I can tackle work work before I “clock watch” and start the next shift….