Why Can’t I Be Fun Mom?

“Let’s ride our bicycles around the block in our pajamas before we go to bed!” Said no working mom ever. Okay maybe there is an outlier but I’m going with pretty much no. But this is exactly what my friend, Lori’s, fun loving, spontaneous husband said to their three kids before bedtime recently. As a working mom this sends shivers up my spine. I mean the point is to get them to the finish line, right? And when I say finish line I mean bed. Getting the children in bed means I can finally have a half hour of me time to drink my glass of pinot in peace and catch up on House of Cards. Getting the children riled up before bedtime is just plain wrong.

Or is it?

As a working mom I’m constantly running from the gym to the office to football practice to homework with the kids to drinks with my girlfriends to date night with my husband. Sleep is for sissies or people with no children. So when am I fitting in the fun?

The weekends, you say? Ha! Weekends are full of catching up on all of the things I totally blew off during the week: laundry, housework, yard work, food shopping

Where is that twenty-fifth hour in the day that allows me to actually spend enjoying these two children I carried in my womb for nine months?

The answer is there is no perfect time for fun. There will be no break in the hamster wheel that is life. Which means you just have to make time for it at what will always seem like the worst time possible. Because our kids will be out of the house before we can even say “empty-nester.” So ride your bikes in your pajamas at bedtime. House of Cards will just have to wait.

For laughter and inspiration read my book The Working Mommy's Manual, available on Amazon. Buy Online Now!

April 13, 2015 by Nicole Corning | 1 Comment