During this wintery time of year I know those of us who must go to work struggle with trying to balance our work job as well as our most important job-- motherhood. Paid time off may be dwindling for you or perhaps you don't have any at all. And you consistently fight the guilt of making a decision between staying home with a sick child or going to work. We see our co-workers planning long vacations to beach resorts, while we moms squander away our vacation days in case we are called home to take care of our little ones. I am not complaining as I would choose the snotty nose of my little angels over the sandy beach any day, but it would be nice to be able to take a trip to DisneyWorld some day!
I am lucky that my work is somewhat understanding of the plight of mothers and offers short term disability pay for maternity leave. I was able to spend 2 months home with my little ones before having to return to work. Other mothers in this country do not have the same luxury. But I still cried my eyes out and felt the guilt on that first day as I dropped my youngest off at daycare to make the trip into the office. If you get a chance there is good article in this week's BabyTalk magazine that discusses maternity leave. The opening sentence states "… the United States may be the world's richest nation, but we're also one of only 5 our of 174 that don't mandate any paid maternity leave." It goes on to talk about how paid maternity can benefit the well-being of the child (most substantially lowering health care costs for infants), the mother, as well as the company for which she works.
So what are we going to do about it you ask? One thing is to visit and read over the information on the following site. http://www.momsrising.org/ Be sure to click on the "Paid Sick Days for All" link to send a message to your Congressional representative.
As moms we teach our children to stand up for what they believe in, fight for their rights, and voice their opionions in a respectful manner. Let's live by our own words!
Working or staying home, part-time or full time, beach or DisneyWorld... the most important and wonderful decision-- the decision to be a mom has already been made! And those smiling faces from God are worth more than any creature comforts from man.
God bless you all--
Cambrey
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