Sorry I am Late- Sincerely, Working Mom

Sorry I was late today for work.

I would love to give you a tangible reason for this. I wish I could say that there was a surprise ice storm and they had to shut down all highways. It would be easy to say that our city was in a state of emergency because the lions escaped from the zoo.  Or I had no way to drive in because a meteor fell from the sky and landed right on my car in the driveway. This is not the case. There are no storms, lions, or meteors.

In fact, it is much more important. You see, I am a working mom and my three year old asked me to cuddle with him this morning. And I am sorry, but I can’t think of anything right at this moment in my life that would make me turn him down. If the Pope or President were knocking on my door, I would say, “I am sorry Sir, I am busy”. If Channing Tatum was on my street signing autographs, I would say, “Oh well, maybe next time”. If the ATM down the street was malfunctioning and spewing out crisp $100 bills to everyone in the vicinity, I would say “I hope those people enjoy their money”.

Most mornings, my three year old is arguing with me about wanting to wear flip-flops in the winter or going to daycare with no pants on. Most mornings are chaotic, and I am racing to make coffee, pack lunches, and get my kids dressed all within 10 minutes. Most mornings I am frustrated that my son is not moving fast enough, angry that we ran out of milk, or nearly having a panic attack that I am almost out of gas. I am not proud of that, but that is my reality.

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But this morning, the conference calls can wait, the emails can hold off, and the projects can be delayed for 10 minutes. If I make the decision to ignore my son’s cuddle request, I am doing something much more damaging than delaying an email response. I am showing my son that work is more important to me than he is. I am passing on an opportunity to love and enjoy this sweet child. If I don’t cuddle then I am not savoring what is probably the best years of my life. In the future, I will not regret showing up 10 minutes late on this random Tuesday, but I will always regret skipping out on that cuddle.  

Every day, I am reminded that my youngest baby is not a baby anymore. Even though I try to hold on to it even in ridiculous ways- such as still feeding him a bottle at bedtime. He is growing quickly. I see this with all three of my children. I don’t want my memories of motherhood to be us all scrambling to get out the door to get to work on time. I want to remember the cuddles we enjoyed in the morning.

Family must come first. Always. So actually, sorry I am not sorry. Yell at me if you must. But at this moment, I am going to cuddle up with him, block out the world, and enjoy every second that he will sit still with me and let me love him.

Love, This Working Momma

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