Workin' It

Peanut is currently obsessed with where daddy is during the day. Yesterday, for the umpteenth time during lunch, I told him daddy was at work.

He scrunched up his brow in his adorable thinking face and finally said, "Mommy doesn't work."

I laughed and said, "Yes I do. This is work."

He replied, "No mommy doesn't."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you are at my house."

Okay. Kid's got a point.

Fast forward to today's lunch. A group of my girlfriends were having a picnic lunch with the kiddos post-park-workout at the park's playground. We were lounging in the spring sunshine, the kid's were sharing their snacks and toys. It was a lovely, peaceful scene. One said, "This is exactly what my friends without kids think every day is like."

We all laughed at the absurdity of that image. If only.

It got me thinking, though, about how to teach peanut the value of women, the importance of what I'm doing now, the idea that my choice may be different from another mommy's choice and that just makes it different not right vs. wrong. I hope to get back into the working game at some point so that he will see how important it is for mommy to have her own life, income, outlet. But until then, when he wants to play by himself and he knee-jerk says "Mommy can go in the kitchen," I have to say, it makes me cringe. A lot.

I know there isn't an easy answer for this. I know that my actions and the actions of my husband will set the tone and so far, I'm happy with the image we portray. Well, other than that get in the kitchen business.

I suppose I can only focus on raising a thoughtful, compassionate, secure little boy so that he will grow into a strong, empathetic, loving man.

No pressure though, right?