Mommy, you work all the time

“Mommy, you work all the time,” says Rowan regularly. It breaks my heart and what I hate about the merging of work and life the most. 

My hours haven’t increased, but before quarantine, my kids were at school for most of my workday. 

Now, the majority of the time that I’m with them, I’m working. My kids are around for my day-to-day stresses — cursing my tech for not working, being disappointed by a lost deal, and pressures from looming deadlines. 

It is what it is. I explain how I work hard during the day, so we can enjoy time later together. Then I take a deep breath, accept our new reality, and move on . . . until the next comment.

It’s hard, mama. Let’s sit with that fact for a minute today. We’re all feeling it.