This post is a part of a blog series of stories of working moms. I’m excited to share 13 stories from real working mothers. I also really would like to hear YOUR story and I’d love to hear it. Keep the conversation going in the comments & on social media using #wellcraftedworkingmoms. A huge thank you to the women who volunteered to share their stories, Mary Boyden of Mamma Bear Magazine for her photography and Madeline Roosevelt for hair and makeup!
I’m very excited to share this story today. I met Tina the day we did the photoshoot for this story. She radiates happiness—or, at least she did that day and in her words below. She tells her story in such a beautiful way. She shares about a song in part of the interview, I linked to the song, I’d highly recommend playing the song in the background as you are reading her words. Get a good cry out today.
Meet Tina, a working mom
Tina Lee and her husband of six years were high school sweethearts who started dating nearly 15 years ago. Tina had the couple’s first child, Austin, is almost three years old when she was 27 years of age. She is currently expecting another child (“girl?boy?Your guess is as good as mine!”) by the end of June. She plans on working up to the last week of her pregnancy as she did the first time around.
Four days a week Tina works as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist for a large healthcare system here in Portland. She isn’t the kind of pharmacist that you see behind the counter at your local neighborhood drugstore, instead you’ll find her stationed at a primary care doctor’s office. She generally works with diabetic adults and those who are at high risk for heart attack or stroke. She helps patience optimize their medication regimens to reach their goals.
“People are surprised when I tell them that much of my work often has little to do with adjusting medications, and more to do with empowering patients to make changes with their diet and lifestyle to become healthier,” Tina says of her job,”I work closely with doctors, nurses, dietitians and others as a team to take care of our patients.”
She continues, “I LOVE my job. It’s the perfect mix of using my left and right brains. This has been my dream job since the day I started pharmacy school.”
(See why I like this gal!?!)
A typical work day in the life of a pharmacist mother of one and one on the way
“I’m a procrastinator, so I refuse to get up a minute earlier than I need to,” says Tina of her day.
She typically gets up at 6:30 AM and takes about ten minutes to throw on her day’s outfit and get cleaned up and ready to go. Her son often wakes at 7 AM and then next half hour is dedicated to getting him ready— “the half hour between 7 and 7:30 becomes a huge blur of teeth-brushing, dressing, and eating breakfast.”
She leaves the house around 7:30 am to go to work and her husband walks their son to daycare as it is close to their home. She usually works eight to five so she gets daycare pick-up duty. She makes dinner while Thomas the Tank Engine or other entertaining character fills her television screen until six. The family eats dinner together and then play until around 8 PM when they begin the bedtime routine with the goal of getting Austin to bed between 8:30 to 9 PM.
After bedtime Tina begins prepping for the following day (meals, laundry, etc.), completes chores, enjoys Netflix and a shower with her bedtime hitting around midnight. Two days a week her mother-in-law comes to her house to watch Austin making those days more relaxed since they don’t have to worry about the drop-off and pick-up schedule.
When my kids are adults and look back at their childhood, I want them to know…
Tina shared a touching story as to what she hoped her kids look back and think about her as a working mother:
A few weeks ago, I took a picture of my new office and sent it to my husband, who was home with my sick child. Being almost three, he immediately launched into questions, which went something like this (according to my husband):
Austin: “What’s mommy need to work right there for?”
Daddy: “Mommy is helping people”
Austin: “What’s mommy helping people for?”
Daddy: “Because she likes it, and that’s her job.”
Maternity Leave, Childcare & Mom Guilt… oh MY!
I absolutely had to ask a few questions about some of the topics that often come up for the working mom such as maternity leave, childcare, and the challenges & joys of working. I love the answers so much that I felt it was best to just put it in their own words. Read on to learn about the ups, downs, ins and outs of Erin’s working mom experience!
