Happy and blessed day to all #hive friends, especially to the members of #motherhood. Today I want to share with you my point of view on an issue that I have been facing with my children for 6 years and that maybe some of you have experienced.
Portada editada en - Cover published in canva
When I graduated from college I spent several months looking for a job, I brought all the resumes they asked me for and I never got a call. By that time my children were 3 years and 11 months old, in the middle of that search my dad offered me to talk to one of his bosses to place me in the same company where he worked, I agreed without many expectations, because this job would be in another state. To my surprise, a few weeks later they called me and I did not hesitate to say yes.
Recuerdo de mi graduación 🎓 Imágen de mi álbum personal - Souvenir of my graduation 🎓 Image from my personal album
But it didn't take long for the feeling of guilt to come over me, I was still breastfeeding my youngest son, who wasn't even walking. I knew that with my mother they would be well cared for, but I felt bad for leaving them so small.
I had to travel very early every Monday to get to the office and return on Friday afternoons or Saturday mornings to be with my children, that is, physically I only had two days, in which I had to organize myself to dedicate time to them, wash, clean and do the other household chores. I was like that for 8 months, until I managed to get them to move me to the city where I live.
Recuerdo de un fin de semana junto a mis hijos - Memories of a weekend with my children
My children were grateful for that change and so was I, because it was stressful to constantly travel from one city to another, and it was not economically feasible.I still continue to work in the same service company, but now I have been asked to help supervise a group of workers who work from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, that is to say, I spend more than half a day away from home.
Preparada para ir a trabajar en el vehículo de la empresa - Prepared to go to work in the company vehicle
So then comes the question: how did I learn not to feel guilty for working and being so many hours without my children? The first thing is to let them know that no matter how much time we spend working, they are our priority and many will ask themselves, how do you achieve that if you are not with them? Well, being distant does not mean being absent, today thanks to technology we can feel close to our relatives with a simple phone call, voice messages or video calls through Whatsapp, just to give an example.
Allocating at least 1 hour when I get home to play, help them with homework, read them a story or watch a movie, is also one of my strategies, which sometimes I interpreted it as dedicating quality time and not quantity. As mothers we do not need to spend all day with our children to make sure they are well, if we trust their caregivers and maintain good communication with them, surely when we get home they will be able to talk to us about the activities they did during the day or how they are doing at school.
Mis niños felices camino a la escuela - My happy children on their way to school
We live in times where working is indispensable, since the high cost of living means that even many mothers have more than one job. The important thing is to know how to take advantage of the free time with the children, to do activities that strengthen the bond and to leave aside any feeling of guilt, because working is how we can satisfy their needs.
Not getting carried away by the opinions of others will save us a few headaches, every family has its own dynamics and if working outside the home works for you and your children understand it, it is totally acceptable.
Y no olvides...
And don't forget.
“Una mujer con imaginación es una mujer que no solo sabe proyectar la vida de una familia y la de una sociedad, sino también el futuro de un milenio”
"A woman with imagination is a woman who not only knows how to project the life of a family and that of a society, but also the future of a millennium."
Rigoberta Menchú
Rigoberta Menchú
Fuentes / Sources:
Traductor || Translator: Deepl
Todas las imágenes son de mi propiedad tomadas con un Xiaomi Red mi 9 || All images are my own taken with a Xiaomi Red mi 9.
Separador de texto||Text separator
Hola leí tu post, me parece genial, muy parecida tu historia de tus hijos con la mía que solo tengo una, pero es verdad lo que dices que no es necesario estar todo el día con ellos, porque hay que trabajar para poderlos atender en su alimentación y lo importantes es que el tiempo que se les dedica sea un tiempo de calidad. hay que saberles explicar el porqué no podemos estar todo el día con ellos y ellos nos entienden. Yo tengo mi hija que no vive con migo actualmente porque estudia en venezuela pero no en la misma ciudad donde resido, pero gracias a las redes nos comunicamos más o menos 4 veces al día y me llama para todo. Muy bueno tu post, te felicito .
¡Gracias! siempre hay maneras para estar presente en sus vidas, tu ejemplo también lo deja claro. Así como es válido que las mamás se queden a cuidar de los hijos a tiempo completo también es válido salir a trabajar. 👩⚖️