Desi Mom

Wow, it's been a really long time, needless to say.

What have I been upto? Let's see - I got a job in finance at a large multinational financial institution, worked as an associate for 18mos, got promoted to VP (yay!), worked another year, had a kid, went back part-time, couldn't stand it, and have now decided to take a break from work till the end of the year (or at least the end of summer).

OK, now that we're all caught up, let's chat.

Can I say how patronizing some people are about Stay At Home Moms (SAHMs)? I recently went on a 5K run with a friend from my ex-job and she made a very disparaging comment about my current situation (i.e. being a SAHM for a while). It's not really worth getting into the specifics, but suffice it to say that I was quite hurt. The comment made it sound like being a full-time mother is somehow "less" than being a working woman. Now, my friend is 36 and single and quite career focused, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by the attitude. But come on people - show a little empathy. And a little respect. You have no idea the kind of patience, resilience and smarts you need when bringing up a child.

In any case, I don't want to make this a ramble about working moms vs stay at home moms. It's a personal choice (or sometimes not a choice at all but a necessity) and having experienced both of those things albeit for short periods, I'll say both are equally difficult and each has its tradeoffs. What is terrible is single people or folks without kids somehow adding a value judgement to either situation. Also - single friends of mine - next time we meet, ask me how my kid is at least once in the course of a 2 hour hangout. I have to listen to you go on and on about your new role at work ad nauseum, but you don't have the decency to ask me about my KID?? Seriously??!