One of the interesting phenomenons about being a working mom is that to many people, you're an enigma. In my case, I have a stay-at-home husband who schlepps our two children to school and around town to their various after-school activities during the day while I'm at work. On the rare ocassion that I take over that job, nobody knows who I am.
At the grocery store, for example, the staff all know my children's names, and wave HI to them as we make our way down the aisles.
"Oh ... You're the mom!" "Wow, glad to finally meet you." I feel like a superstar.
"Who was that?" I ask my daughter.
"That was Marianne. She watched me last week when Dad had to take [my son] to the bathroom."
"Ohhhhhhh ..."
"And that's Nicca. She's really funny."
To some of the other moms at my son's preschool, I feel like a mystery mom, because most of these women do not work outside the home. And most of them - all of them? - do not have a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) in the family.
Through the years, I've become accustomed to the curious stares, quizzical looks and "interesting comments" that come with being in a SAHD family, and I'm happy to dispel the myths and rave about this wonderful lifestyle.
It's not always easy being the working mom. But with a SAHD in the family, it's not that hard, either. In my belief system, I don't really care which parent my children are with during the day as long as it's one of us.
However, on the rare days that I get to play stay-at-home mom, I make it special. I take my son out on the ice with me and we skate together while my daughter has her ice-skating lesson. We spend time together licking ice-cream cones down at our favorite stand. It's often the little things that make the big differences. And even if nobody else knows who I am ... my children surely do, and that's what counts.
[Jamie Hayden is the working mom behind www.ParenTeam.com, a resource for working wives of stay-at-home dads.]
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