If motherhood were a "job," Amy Weatherly would instantly quit. She wouldn't debate about, stress about giving two weeks' notice, or look for a backup plan first; this mom would simply be out the door and never look back. Although that answer might not be the most popular one — and other moms might not be as vocal or ready to admit it — parents need to hear Weatherly out.
There's a reason why Weatherly wouldn't last long if motherhood was her job; it can seriously suck. "I would soooo quit. I would just walk out of that cubicle, slam the door, and give them the old peace sign and never look back," the blogger wrote on Facebook. "Or I'd go all 'Office Space' on them and start beating different machines with baseball bats out in the alley outside, and offer them a wave and a 'bye Felicia.'"
Being a mom is so much damn harder than other careers, and you don't get any of the same accolades to help compensate for the time and energy you put into it. "I don't get promoted. I don't get a check," she wrote. "I don't get a 'Hey! Nice job on that report there, slugger. Wink wink.'"
Instead, Weatherly gets pooped on (literally), yelled at, and repeatedly argued with. "I am constantly cleaning up after other people. Nobody respects my space," she wrote. "Sometimes they take my hard work and just tear it up AND THEN LAUGH ABOUT IT like dang heathens."
There's no 401(k) matching or holiday bonus to make up for the fact that her days are spent with people who steal her food from the fridge, leave dirty dishes in the sink with the assumption that she'll clean up behind them, and constantly touch her without her consent. "That's right, even in this day and age. They don't listen to my ideas and I have some really good ideas," she wrote. " I don't get days off. I don't get paid for all of the over-time. Even when I'm asleep, I'm still on call. And no, I'm not Oprah’s assistant. That would be amazing."
No, she's just a mom, and as a "job," it's definitely lacking. However, as a life role, it's amazing — but in a "totally less glamorous, more I-haven't-showered-today kind of way."
If you're a mom, Weatherly knows that you can relate to where she's coming from with this. "I'm not complaining, because I chose this. Because I signed up for this. Because I understand how important this job is, and because I love the people I work for, but geezus Louises. Somebody just appreciate me," she wrote. "Maybe just recognize that your bathroom is only clean because I cleaned it. And it was disgusting. Making it in the toilet is not that difficult, I promise."
Because after a long day, moms are just damn tired and can't go home to relax or look forward to the weekend for a break. But moms will also get so much more at the end: they're promoted to parents of blossoming adults.
"I will get my thank you one day. I will get my bonus check. I will get my giant cake right before leaving time in the break room with the words 'Way to go!' scribbled in pink frosting … And that thank you will look a lot like adults who are kind. It will look a lot like adults who know how to give and how to work hard and how to respect others. It will look a lot like adults who understand the importance of being a good friend and who know how hard it is to make a marriage last."
But Weatherly also knows that if she's really lucky, she'll get paid back with grandkids as well. And if these little ones also don't appreciate their parents as much as they should, it's just an added bonus because it will give her children a new understanding of how much she did during these thankless days. "And I can’t even imagine having a better 'thank you' than that," she added.
