The thing is, there is some stigma with being a working mother. These days, yes, the economy calls for down-sizing. So maybe that does require a parent to stay at home rather than pay a similar amount to a stranger to take care of said baby. And yes, I DO involve myself in things that interest me beyond the pooping, eating and sleeping schedule of my baby and I am NOT male, I promise. Is that wrong - that I am a mother who does not eat, sleep and breathe in sync with her newborn's schedule? And if it IS okay, how do I navigate that working world while letting my young one know I care as much as the next dedicated mother?
How DID it end up that males got all the breaks? Oh, I know, they don't always have it easy, but in this instance, they do. I mean, no one looks twice when they hold a beer and their baby at the same time; no one glances at their "size" while walking down Aisle 10 at the grocery store; no one EXPECTS them to pick up the baby if s/he gets hungry (and therefore screams) at a restaurant. There are just some things forever linked to motherhood - for which we (moms) will always be responsible for being (or not being, but suffering the cost).
The burden we bear is great, but I don't care. I bear the burden and ignore the stigma. Here is my vow - I WILL be a new mother who spends as much time with her daughter as she can. I WILL be a new mother who graduates with her dissertation in May of 2011. I WILL be the mother who loses her "baby fat" in less time than it took to acquire it.
