Oh Meghann Foye – you sweet naïve little girl. You actually DO get a version of this “MEternity” you so desperately want…it’s called vacation time and every working adult gets it.
Welcome to the new America – the whining, bitching, everyone wants a free handout country that was once the place that people looked to. I’m sure Miss Meghann has heard this all before but maternity is NOT a vacation. It is in no way fun, exciting, or “ME” time. Let’s take a look at my maternity leave…I was forced to take early maternity leave due to high blood pressure and my stress level. I spent the last month of my pregnancy painfully driving back and forth to the doctor for checkups, tests, and monitoring. Then after the birth of my baby (I took the 8 weeks required by my doctor due to my C-section for my body to heal which is why we "get" maternity leave in the first place) I spent every day sleep deprived, not eating, stressed about bills (you only get about half your paycheck), and believing that I was doing every single thing wrong. I love my son to pieces and I would never change a thing but if you knew how difficult it is to learn why a baby is crying every 10 fucking minutes you would not be complaining that we get a long vacation. I spent my entire day in a haze because I didn’t sleep for days – I needed to feed the baby, change the baby, pump the breasts, eat? (well even when my appetite returned I barely had time to eat), attempt to sleep but even when my baby WAS sleeping I still thought he was crying. Oh I’m loving this 2-month VACATION.
Oh Miss Meghann – did I mention the mental breakdown a lot of us new mothers face? I personal suffered from post-partum anxiety right on the border of past-partum depression. Something that is just now being brought into the public eye and but barely opening discussed for fear of being judged and mommy shamed. Oh yes – what a fabulous vacation just full of ME time.
Yes, we do “get” to leave work on time or sometimes early for parenting reasons but let me assure you that it is no excuse and typically not an enjoyment. We have to wake up early, get everyone ready, sit in traffic, drop off at school, hope we get to work on time, run errands at lunch or work through lunch, get everyone to practices, attend school functions, pay a bloody fortune on daycare – clothes – food – school necessities – school functions – etc., stress about saving enough money for college, play dates, birthday parties, parent-teacher meetings, the list goes on and on and on and that’s just for the kids…mind you we still have to keep the house together and our marriages fresh. Don’t forget that we spent a couple of months with half our paycheck so new moms are playing catch up! And if you’ve read my other posts you would know about all the mommy shamers and guilt trippers we constantly have to ward off. You complain that you want to be able to leave work whenever you want so you can sip margaritas and bitch to your friends about that dumb guy that blew you off – friends? I can’t remember the last time I was able to go out with a friend and not have it based on the children. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to go out with just my husband!
It’s your choice to have kids or not to have kids – I have no judgment towards people that choose not to have children but don’t you dare complain that I get to have a vacation that you are not awarded. You get vacation time just like everyone else and typically sick days as well. Mothers are usually using their sick time and vacation days for doctor appointments or mid-day school meetings/engagements. Even if we are actually sick, our household still needs to function. You can call out of work any time you’d like and lay in bed all day or go out with your friends until all hours of the night. You can pick up and go anywhere for the weekend, hell – you can pick up and leave your house in ten minutes if you’d like with no care in the world or stress that you have enough snacks to keep someone busy or if there will be enough nap time to not have to deal with a slangry (sleep angry…huh? Huh? Lol) baby.
Meghann Foye – as a non-parent, your whole God damn life is a vacation. And by the way…you don’t hear men bitching about maternity or paternity leave. Grow up little girl. Open your eyes to the real world and stop looking for the hand out.
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