Portrait of a Working Mom: The Day Off

by Amey Stone (Subscribe to Amey Stone's posts)
Mar 9th 2007 6:31PM

Filed under: Work Life

Whether you stay at home, work from home or work outside the home, the concept of a day off is as foreign to most parents as the concept of placental abruption is to those who have yet to procreate. But somehow, when you are a working parent, the day off is a more marked thing. Marked specifically by the fact that your child is in your care -- ALL DAY.

I must admit, I'm out of practice. Much like sick days, I find myself scrambling for things to do. The realities of a day off BC (Before Child) involved laundry, grocery shopping, a healthy dose of socializing with friends and family, and a potentially unhealthy dose of French martinis. I still have many of those elements to pack into a weekend, except now I have a preschooler in tow. (Meaning the martinis are out, because parenting hungover really sucks.)

The errands and events must be scheduled around mealtimes, naptimes, the need for military strategy and surgical precision to go anywhere. And somewhere in there, you need to do something stimulating, and hopefully educational, for your child too. Some days, my day off seems like more work than going to work.

We try our best to plan something worthwhile, but often, there's hitch that throws off the whole day. And sometimes, you need to get something done around the house and rest at the same time. It's never too soon to teach multitasking, is it?

How do you structure your days off?