Being a Mompreneur during the COVID-19 Pandemic is Hard AF

Janna Willoughby-lohr family picture

I am almost 40 and have 2 kids (5 & 3) and I've been 100% self employed for 5 years.  It's hard af to not feel the mom-guilt when I love what I do so much and there are many days where I'd rather be in my office working on growing my company and living my dream than playing trucks with my kids and making dinner.  I think it is really important for my kids to grow up with at least one parent who truly loves their work and is willing to make sacrifices to do what they love.  I want them to have their work be something that really brings them joy when they get older and have a career. 

But I'm not gonna lie and say it's all fucking roses.  Dad-guilt isn't a thing... no one ever makes dads feel like shit for going to work and they get praised for any amount of childcare and housework they do on top of working but mothers get treated so differently... like if you're a working mom then you're a shit mom because you aren't focused on your kids 100% of the time and if you are a stay at home mom then you are a shitty partner because you don't contribute financially to your family. 

It's a lose lose situation if you expect to be able to devote 100% of yourself to either thing... so I don't. Instead I try to focus on all the things my kids are learning from the other adults in their lives who help care for them while I'm working and about all the amazing experiences they are getting that they would never get if they were only with me all the time.  

I also recognize that if I try to juggle all the balls,  I drop most of them so I try to recognize which balls are glass and which are plastic and I let the plastic ones fall because I know they won't break and I can pick them back up again later. I also never fold laundry anymore and I'm learning to be ok with it.

How are you all surviving in this insanity?