C'mon Mama, let's go!

I have been bursting with this post for several days and now I need to sit down and let it all out.
I want to write some disclaimers, and excuse my behavior, and allow you to set me/the post aside and call me crazy...that's my normal move. If I get too intense, I want to allow you to walk away and assure you I won't be hurt.

But in this post, I am going to say my piece. I am tired of sitting back, in my motherhood, in my parenthood, and just quietly, to a few people sharing my ideas about what's propagating in the society about motherhood and parenthood.

Most recently, I read an article that got me pretty hot. I have been a working mom for most of my child's life. He's been in school since he was 19 months. He goes all day.
I work from 6:30a until about 4:30p. My husband also works full time. He works on weekends, too. We share chores, we have busy lives (we have several spiritual groups, civic groups, family groups, and friend groups, not to mention family swim time, soccer, school parent groups, and our own home chores and a business we run out of our home), and we take time to enjoy our marriage.

My parenting doesn't take precedence OVER the rest of my life. It's a part of my life. I think I am a great parent. I enjoy it, I like the challenges, I like the triumphs, I love the growth. My child, as lovely as he is, is not the only thing I wake up for each day. He is not the axis upon which my world spins.

Call me whatever you like, but I am tired of slinking away when I hear sacrificing moms talk about how their kids are paramount. My kid isn't paramount. I don't share like this usually because, well, because I get silently judged (yes, I can see and hear you...) and questioned and I simply have to be honest about it. My kid is awesome. But if he took precedence over me for any substantial length of time, I would fall apart. I have been conscious of the balance of what I get and what he gets. I'm not telling him he doesn't get to have the world...I'm just saying, I'm not the only one he needs to ask.