The internet loves a woman who fits neatly into a category.
Thetradwife, basking in the glow of freshly baked sourdough, her life an ode to nostalgic domesticity.
The childfree-by-choice woman, sipping Aperol Spritzes on a sunlit balcony, her autonomy celebrated as liberation.
Culture is full of references to the challenges of being a working mother. George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1996 rom comOne Fine Day.
But theworking mother, who exists somewhere in the middle?
She rarely commands such a romantic narrative.
These images are rooted in truth.
Theworking motherdoes carry a heavy load, navigating systems designed for a reality that no longer exists.
She balances work, family, and self in a world that too often feels indifferent to her needs.
I love being a working mother.
And most of all, Ilovethat I get to do both of these things at the same time.
Even so, I never felt guilty about working.
Motherhood, in turn, transformed how I experienced work.
But motherhood gave me a new way to navigate the highs and lows of my career.
When parenting left me drained, creative work offered space to breathe.
Motherhood has made me better at my job.
It also forced me to get serious about earning.
After he was born, that calculus shifted.
Even my creative work feels freer now.
As authors Amanda Montei and Sara Petersenhave argued, the role of motherhood writing isnt to romanticize motherhood.
Its to tell the truth about womens lives, with all their contradictions and imperfections.
Joy isnt tied to a single path.
Working mothers know joy, tooa joy thats complex, textured, and deeply personal.
