Introducing a guest blog post submitted by one of our favorite Role Mommies, author Jen Singer…
Last June, an angry mob of women
chased me across the Internet. I’d appeared on CBS The Early Show to talk about my holiday for full- and part-time at-home moms called, “Please Take My Children to Work Day,” which I’d created years
ago when I was a (mostly) stay-at-home mom of two little kids. Held annually in
June, the holiday has even been officially declared by governors in about a
dozen states.
for themselves, I knew that at-home moms in particular often feel they
shouldn’t or can’t get a day off, even if they’re caring for small children
upwards of 100 hours a week. I also knew that few people – even their husbands
– would believe they deserved or needed it. So I made it official by creating
the holiday.
it. They posted nasty things on other web sites and even tried to find me on my
own web site. I got rude e-mails from people telling me to find a more worthy
group of people to champion. It made me consider canceling my holiday
altogether. I mean, I’m a work-at-home mom now. Why should I take the hit for
stay-at-home moms?
of all at-home moms. As I explained on MommaSaid.net: “At-home moms often don’t feel like they deserve a break
because they have the privilege of staying home. But when a sick day is doing
what you do every other day, only you feel worse, and you can’t use the
bathroom without an audience, you need an excuse to get a day off. And here it
is.”
mob complained and questioned and dropped F-bombs in sentences with my name in
it. So I posted an answer to one of their most often asked questions:
working moms would take your kids to work? We’re busy enough!
A. The title is tongue-in-cheek, people. Colorado declares it
“Stay-at-Home Mother Day.” That’s all it is. Eight or so hours off
from the daily chores and responsibilities. Not a slap in the face to working
moms any more than Father’s Day is a slap in the face to mothers, or Arbor Day
disses low-lying vegetation.”
start their own holiday or celebration of working moms. “Think about it: the media is filled with working moms, so
they’ll cover it. Corporations are filled with them, too, and they’ll sponsor
it.” And I’ll attend it, now that I’m a work-at-home mom.
them across the Internet, too, but I hope not. I’d hope that all moms can all
see that each and every one of us is just doing our best to get by however we
can. It’s just that stay-at-home mothers didn’t have a voice, so I gave it to
them, along with a much needed day off.
Guessing Yourself – The Toddler Years, and the creator of MommaSaid.net. She writes the Good Grief: A
Tale of Two Tweens blog for Good Housekeeping.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JenSinger.