I'm not going to get into some SAHM/WOHM whose-grass-is-greener debate. Whatever.
I am a single parent who works full time, and life is just harder in a one-parent household, case closed. This is the life that I chose for myself, and I'm okay with that, but there are times when it's really, really hard to do all the juggling.
Gabriel's dad lives outside the area, by about a three hour drive. I have to work to live, to eat, to pay my rent. Do I get sick time? Sure. But not infinitely.
So there are days when I send Gabriel to school, and I know if I was a stay-at-home mom, I'd keep him home.
Worse, there are days when I know Gabriel shouldn't go, but I give him some cold medicine and send him anyways. He'll be good on drugs until it's nap time, they can let him sleep a little extra, if he's too sick for school when he wakes up at three? Well at that point I've managed to get a whole day of work in, and I can maybe even get my mom to pick him up.
Anyhow, these are choices that I know I wouldn't make if I had more flexibility with my working hours, or a two-income household, or if I stayed home full time. And I know that you, other parents at Gabriel's school, probably hate me for sending my sick kid. And I'd be annoyed too, roles reversed.
But we have to eat, yknow?
