SAH vs WOH

   One thing that I've been seeing consistently online and in articles in magazines have me thinking. And that  is stay at home Moms vs Moms that work outside the home.
   I find it entirely hilarious that as women we feel the need to label and defend ourselves in this day and age. I hate that people feel the need to break apart what a woman does. I find it senseless that our bodies are mature enough to produce a child and we are adult enough to have our child(ren) but we feel we have to check off boxes as to why we are the way we are or to have someone else defend us. And I find it absolutely unnecessary for any man to say "this is what my wife does". 
  I'll be blunt. Any woman that has a child that she loves, that she cares for, that she feeds, she clothes, she daily involves herself with..is a  Mom. Whether that Mom works from 7 to 4 at a job outside the home or is home all day..she is a Mom. Any woman that misses sleep in the middle of the night to soothe a nightmare, that rushes to an appt, that juggles more than one thing (and don't we all) is a working Mom. If you bandage booboos, ooh and ahhh over less than desirable pets, hang crookedly drawn crayon art on your fridge..you are a Mom. 
  I don't ever find the need to say "I work a job from 7 to 4 but I'm still a Mom." Sorry I just don't. I'm a Mom 24/7 and I just happen to have one job that I clock in for and another that I'm on the clock all the time.  I also never expect a SAH Mom to say "I have my children all day but I still work". That's redundant. Being home with your children is just as much work as working a job that you clock in for.
  As a WOH Mom yes things are different than if I was a SAH Mom. I do leave for work in the morning and I come back home at 4pm. I work 7 days a week at least once a month to be able to have 2 days off during the week for dr. appts, dentist appts etc. I know in my home my income is needed but it doesn't mean that my child suffers. Every single minute at work I'm thinking of my kiddo. If she is sick breaks are used to call home and if she's very sick my vacation time etc is used to be AT HOME. Yes that right...us WOH Moms are still there when our kids are sick, when they need us and when special events happen. We don't miss out on school events, we don't miss out on big moments, we don't punch the time clock while our kiddo is desperately ill. I'm tired of hearing how WOH moms miss special moments or are so rushed around that we don't get fully involved. Granted I'm not every mom and there are some WOH Moms that do not juggle time or put family first..that's not my style. Some WOH Moms have no choice but to NOT miss work and I'm lucky that I have options. The minute my feet hit the door at home I'm in full Mommy mode..supper, play time, learning activities, bath time etc etc. WOH Moms have to do the same things as SAH Moms we just do it in different time frames.
  I get tired of society hitting on both types of Moms. We do what works for our families and what we have to do. It's not societies business what works nor is it media's right to label us one way or another. There are many well rounded, well involved SAH Moms but there are many that do not use the full potential that they have ..and by that I mean their kids are not "at home" they are in a million activities, the Mom's put themselves first 100% of the time, time is spent anywhere but at home bonding. There are many WOH Moms that juggle a full work schedule and a full home schedule and do it beautifully but there are many that put work first, themselves first or forget that being a Mom is more than just giving birth. But it is not the medias place to tell us what is "right" as far as whether a woman HAS to be at home or at work. Nor should a woman be made feel guilty about her family decisions.
  Even more aggravating is the fact that women feel the need to say you have to have one way or the other or it's wrong. That if you are a WOH Mom you must not want to be involved fully with your kid, miss out on important things or your child is less in your heart. Or that if you are a SAH Mom that you let your husband take care of you,that you have a lazier schedule than other Mom's or that you are not using your degree/capabilities etc. I find it crazy that women judge each other on such a sensitive issue. Instead of raising each other up in victory....her kid is fed, she's googling healthy recipes, she's making decisions for her whole family, she's taking some time to reenergize...we try to pull each other down. A WOH Mom shouldn't say anything when a SAH Mom writes an article supporting SAH Moms but a WOH Mom writes an article then it's fair game for an attack by SAH. And I can admit at times it's that way on both sides of the fences. But society largely makes a WOH Mom feel super guilty about everything she does and how she does it and if a WOH Mom even mentions she's happy with her life then society doubly guilt trips her. I can't speak for the SAH Mom simply because I am not one but I'm sure they too feel that way. Society feels the need to make one side of the fence look greener than the other when in reality both sides can be green with the proper care and nurturing.
  I also cannot stand when men feel the need to say "My wife stays at home" "My wife works but she's still a good Mom". Give me a break. If we judged all men under the lump sum of what was accomplished at home then more than one would be seriously lacking. It's one thing to say "I'm blessed to have a wife that can juggle home and work and be an awesome wife and Mom." Or "I'm blessed my wife gets to be at home helping to raise our children and is an awesome wife and Mom." Totally different than saying "My wife stays at home" "My wife works" 
  I think we need to stop focusing on where a woman is for a part of her day and instead focus on what she brings to the family, what she brings to her children. We need to start complimenting Moms that are doing it right. As women we need to start being there for each other not talking about each other. We as WOH Moms need to stop thinking SAH Moms are putting us down and SAH Moms need to stop thinking WOH Moms are putting them down. We need to start seeing our blessing of being a MOM and gracefully be exactly what we are!