I am a Mom.

There has been lots of articles going viral lately about working moms vs stay at home moms. They are all great. Truly resonated in my heart. They have so much truth in them that I just couldn’t stop the tears from running on my face from all the words. So much truth. But it also got me thinking.

I’ve set my foot in both worlds. I know what its like to have to remind myself countless times to get my head back in the game when my mind wandered off to cool air conditioned rooms where my toddlers were napping, especially as I was stuck in traffic on hot afternoons on the way to a meeting. I remember wrapping things up in a hurry every time it looked like the sun was about to set, just to make sure I make it back home in time to see my children before they slept. I have experienced the extreme exhaustion from the daily grind of ferrying my children to and from school, managing the household chores, feeding my children, answering little curious minds and keeping them busy and how I would swing my arms around my husband every time he came home in time for dinner, because it meant that I could take longer than two minutes to shower that evening. I have also had my share of strong cups of coffee to keep my eyes open around midnight after the kids are fast asleep to submit the the stuff for work that were due that week.

In all of that I never found anything that made me feel more superior to others. So I have come to the conclusion that since there was nothing significantly special in the differences between the roles because each brought me joy in its own way, it didn’t matter if I was a working mom or a stay at home mom or even a part time working mom. What matters is that I am a mom. Period.

I also believe that because many moms can relate to these messages, moms tolerate. They don’t go on judging the others for their choices of career or way of life, because they understand that they must have their own reasons and justifications, each choices accompanied by their own set of sacrifices. Moms will appreciate each other’s decisions because they understand. Real moms will, anyway. Because in the end, we know that whatever choices we make, it all comes down to this: we all have our children’s best interests at heart and we are happy with whatever roles we let ourselves pick up. It is rewarding either way. Because what matters is that we are moms.