Love and Work, Work and Love

Ever have one of those days where you just feel like screaming at the world? You ran into two car accidents on the way to work which made you late, your phone rang off the hook so you got zero paper work done and your boss “asks” (more like tells) you to work overtime.

To many, a day like this should end with a hot bubble bath and a tall glass of wine. But that's not how my day came to a close.

You're Still Working at Home

After picking my two young ones up from daycare on my way home from the office, I was greeted at the door by my 13 year old daughter whining about her math homework and needing my help. My youngest was quite, well, “fragrant” and clearly was in need of a diaper change while my 4 year old was itching to get to the potty.

“Okay, give me a few minutes and I'll help you,” I hurriedly tell my teen as I bustle in through the door – only to then witness the growing wet patch on the back of my 4 year old's pants.

After putting my 1 year old down there I am rushing him to the toilet (all in vain) and whisking off his pants. My 1 year old begins to wail as I race to my son's room to nab another pair of pants only to then find that he decided to break into the cupboard and decorate the washroom with feminine hygiene products.

Stop. Deep Breath. And GO.

I help him with his pants, throw the “decorations” back into the cupboard, snap the baby lock back on, run to the baby's change table, pick up the baby and begin to change her diaper, all the while then realizing I had nothing for dinner planned (which is a very difficult feat while changing a diaper, let me tell ya) and my 13 year old is still complaining about her algebra homework...

Family Work is Love Not Stress

And so my night goes. Some may pity me whilst lounging in their bubbly tubs and flipping through the latest fashion magazine, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. The office may stress me to no end and leave me grinding my teeth, but the work I do for my family is the work of true love. Day after day it is this love that I have for my family that keeps me going, keeps me revved up and keeps me inspired. My accomplishments, my work would mean next to nothing without their love in my life. At night as they curl up into my lap to quiet down for bed I smile and thank my lucky stars for being able to hold the most important job title of all: a parent.

photo by Valerij Zhugan