A few weeks ago, my husband and I were at a party with a bunch of new faces. We started chatting with a couple and sharing stories of our young boys who were about the same ages. A few minutes into the conversation she asked me if I worked. I kind of hesitated, let out an awkward chuckle, and then I said, “Well, kind of. Yeah, I guess I work.”
My husband turned to me with a stunned face. I don’t kind of work. I don’t just work. I freakin’ hustle. I know it, and he knows it. He’s just never heard me answer like that, so bashful, and so apologetic.
It’s been more than six months since I left the agency world to work as a freelance marketer. I really love it. I love the flexibility. I love the ability to pick up my boys at 2:30 when the pre-K days end. I love spending extra time with my boys during their school breaks. These are exactly why I choose to go freelance. But I don’t just kind of work, I really work. And I work hard.
In less than six months I’ve come close to not only matching what I was earning in salary but exceeding it. I take conference calls with my east coast clients at 6am before my boys are awake. I catch up on emails at 11pm after the boys go down. And yeah, I’ve been on conference calls while I wiped butts (but, please… don’t tell my clients that one!).
I’m proud of what I am done to build a business for myself. I really am. I’m proud that I have created what I have referred to as, “the best balance that one can have as a working mama.” So, why did I minimize that?
I wanted to fit in.
I didn’t want to sound like I was work-obsessed.
I didn’t want to sound like a bad mom.
I didn’t want to justify why my boys have been in daycare since they were 12 weeks.
I didn’t want to have to apologize for being me.
What. The. Heck.
You know the funny thing? The other Mom I was chatting to… she probably wouldn’t have thought I was a bad Mom. She wouldn’t have really thought I was work-obsessed. Those are things that I put on myself. And I know that I’m not the only one.
Every mama that I have met is amazing. Those who work, those who stay at home, and those that fall somewhere in the massive area between the two, are all amazing.
Mamas, we are all so amazing. We do the impossible. We raise good humans. We are following our passions. We are keeping our houses clean. We are networking and going to church groups. We are all hustling.
And we need to all be proud. So the next time it comes up in conversation, I’m going to share with excitement the things that I am proud of.
And you, absolutely, 100% should too.
