Please, indulge me for just a moment. Let me revel in the fact that I saw this coming a mile way and say, “SEEEEE! I WAS RIGHT!” Hang on, hang on, I’m not rejoicing in anyone’s depression or blue mood but finally some proof that Good Enough Mother knew what she was talking about all those years ago.
Seems the findings of a new study out of the University of Washington show women over 40 who worked outside the home (and thought they could do it all) were at greater risk for depression than those who went in with their eyes open to the realities of what that would entail. But the news wasn’t great for women who stayed at home either. They were more likely to be depressed than those who went to the office, possibly because of the lack of paycheck and social interaction.
Look, I know intimately both sides of that coin. When I worked the big, network morning show gig, I felt like I was short-changing my kids (not to mention myself), always running one step behind. But as someone who works from home, there are times the isolation is maddening. Yes, I know how odd that sounds coming from me, a proponent of alone time.
This is not another salvo in the tired and overplayed war between stay-at-home moms and working ones. I don’t care if you spend the day wiping the noses of two-year-olds or go to an office and kick the butts of 22-year-olds, being a mom is incredibly difficult; even more so when you buy into what society says it’s supposed to be. It’s not all sweetness and light; there are times you will wonder what happened to the person you used to know and whether you’ll ever sleep through the night again. But we can save ourselves a whole lot of heartache if we accept what we can do and let everything else go, regardless of what “they” say we are supposed to do.
That’s my take, what do you think about this? Do you work from home or go to the office? Can you relate to what I said here? What do you think needs to happen to reverse these sobering numbers? Let me hear ya!
