Working Moms, Working Hours, and the Guilt Nobody Warned Me About

Can we talk about this for a second? Because I don't think I'm the only one wondering about it.

Somewhere along the way it became normal, expected even, for two parents to be working, sometimes multiple jobs between them, kids stacked in activities, calendars that look like a logistics operation instead of a family schedule. And we just... do it. Nobody stops to ask if "normal" is actually working for anybody.

I'm not working a 9-to-5 that lines up with school pickup and bedtime stories. My hours don't look traditional, and some days that means I'm present for the thing that matters at 10am on a Tuesday and completely checked out by 6pm because I've got nothing left. Other days it's the opposite. There's no version where I get both every single day, and that's the part that eats at me.

So here's what I'm really sitting with: do you make the job you have work for your family, or do you go looking for the job that actually fits your family? Is that second option even real for most of us, or is that a privilege dressed up as a plan? Because from where I'm standing, a lot of us aren't being picky, we're grateful for the opportunity and we take what's in front of us because the bills don't care about our preferences.

And then there's the bigger question underneath all of it: are we actually building toward a real career at this point, or are we just working because working is what keeps the lights on? Those aren't the same thing, and I think a lot of us stopped asking which one we're actually doing.

The guilt is real for me. Feeling like there aren't enough waking hours in a day to truly be present for my kids, not just physically in the room, but actually there. That guilt doesn't care that I'm trying. It shows up anyway.

I don't have this figured out. I'm not writing this because I cracked the code, I'm writing it because I need to know I'm not the only one in it. If you're a working parent navigating hours that don't fit neatly into anybody's idea of normal, tell me how you're making it work, or if you're even sure you are.

Love Always,

Your Favorite Craftin Ass Blk Grl ✨️ 🫶🏿