Whether a woman is working hybrid, remotely from home, or going into the office every day, the challenge of balancing work and motherhood remains very real, says the writer.
Image: Meta AI
BEING a working mother is one of the most demanding roles a woman can carry, yet it is often spoken about very lightly. From the outside, it may look like a woman has everything under control – a job, a home and children who are cared for. But the reality is that many mothers are quietly balancing multiple responsibilities at the same time.
Whether a woman is working hybrid, remotely from home, or going into the office every day, the challenge of balancing work and motherhood remains very real. Sometimes people assume that working from home makes life easier for mothers. In truth, it often simply means that the lines between work and home become even more blurred.
For many mothers, the day does not begin with emails or meetings. It begins with a moment of quiet prayer. Before the house wakes up and the rush begins, there is often a simple prayer asking for strength, patience and guidance for the day ahead. Then the household slowly comes to life. Breakfast must be prepared. School uniforms checked. Water bottles filled. Lunch boxes packed. Homework that was checked the night before is quickly looked over again. School bags are reconfirmed in the morning – because somehow, despite checking everything the night before, something still manages to disappear between evening and sunrise.
Once the children walk out the door for school, many mothers do not immediately relax. Their minds shift to the next task – planning meals for the afternoon and evening, and ensuring that everyone will have something ready to eat later. The work of running a home continues quietly in the background long before the professional workday begins.
Then comes the workplace. Deadlines, meetings, emails and responsibilities demand full focus. A mother must perform like any other professional in the room. Yet even during the busiest moments, part of her mind remains with her children. Her phone is always nearby – always within reach – just in case the school calls. And when the school number appears on the screen, even though it rarely happens, her heart skips a beat. In that moment, a hundred questions rush through her mind: what happened? Is someone hurt? Did something go wrong?
Most of the time the call turns out to be harmless. But for those few seconds, a mother’s mind has already travelled a long and anxious road. There are also moments that many working mothers carry quietly. Perhaps she receives photographs of her child’s sports day while sitting in a boardroom meeting. She glances at the message, sees her child smiling proudly in the photo, and for a brief moment the boardroom fades away. Her eyes fill, but she pushes the tears back and refocuses on the discussion around the table.
These are the silent sacrifices that often go unnoticed.
When the workday ends, the second shift begins. Homework must be supervised. Dinner must be prepared. School bags must be unpacked and repacked for the next day. And somewhere in the middle of it all, mothers take on another evening task – separating children from their electronic devices. Convincing them to step away from screens and either go outside for some fresh air or sit at their desk to focus on schoolwork, can sometimes feel like negotiating an international peace treaty.
And then there are the reminders. Reminders about homework. Reminders about chores. Reminders about school projects. Reminders about sports practice. Reminders about almost everything. If she reminds too often, she hears: “Mom, you’re always nagging.”
If she says nothing and something important is forgotten, the response quickly becomes: “But why didn’t you remind me?”
It is one of life’s great mysteries that mothers somehow manage to be blamed in both situations.
Remind too much – she nags. Don’t remind – she should have reminded. It becomes a delicate juggling act – being the organiser, the planner, the family memory bank, and, apparently, the person responsible for remembering things that everyone else forgot to remember themselves.
And then there are the side-eye glares from the children – the same look you get when mom decides to play Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh’s song Sapphire on full blast in the car, singing along with great confidence while the children slowly slide down into their seats, hoping nobody at the traffic lights recognises them. Behind the humour and the daily routines, however, lies a quieter emotional struggle that many mothers know well. There is often a silent tug-of-war taking place. When work demands more time, a mother may quietly wonder if she is missing moments in her children’s lives.
When she focuses more on home, she may worry that she is falling behind professionally. A mother may sit at her desk thinking about her children, and later sit at home thinking about work – wondering if she is doing enough in either place. Yet somewhere along the journey, many mothers come to an important realisation – that life cannot revolve entirely around work and children alone.
There must also be space for herself. Moments of self-care. Time spent with her husband. Conversations and laughter with friends. Small pauses that allow her to reconnect with who she is beyond her many roles. Because when a mother takes care of herself, she is better able to care for everyone else. Despite the exhaustion, the reminders, the side-eye glares and the endless balancing act, mothers continue to show up every day.
They support their families, guide their children and quietly hold many parts of the household together. Being a good mother does not mean being perfect in every moment. It means showing up with love, patience and resilience, even on the days when things feel overwhelming. And while mothers may sometimes feel that they have not done enough, the truth is that their love, effort and presence are shaping their children in ways they may only fully see many years later.
Mothers may sometimes feel they are not doing enough – yet somehow they are doing everything.