It was just moments after I laid her down for her afternoon nap. I finally sat down on the couch to catch my breath, then it happened. She started crying and I knew my nap time break wasn’t happening today. I went in her room and attempted to soothe her, but it didn’t work. So I grabbed her and brought her to the living room where I rocked her. As she relaxed in my arms she drifted off to sleep.

Then, I thought of you.

I thought about how much you would love to be the one rocking your baby to sleep when they won’t nap. I thought about how you would give anything to be the one to answer your baby’s cries during the day. I thought about you having to leave your baby with someone else every morning, desperately wishing you didn’t have to.

I thought about you, the working mom who wishes she could be home.

We were sitting on the floor playing as we do every afternoon. I watched my son as his imagination ran wild. I sat there with tears in my eyes as he grasped new things and I was amazed. I couldn’t believe how smart he is. I couldn’t believe how incredible his imagination was.

Then, I thought of you.

I thought about how much you would love to see your child discover the world around them. I thought about how every text message you get from the sitter makes you break inside wishing you were there seeing it first-hand.

I thought about you, the working mom who wishes she could be home.

She giggles and laughs as she explores the world around her. She never goes far though, she turns around and crawls back to me every so often. When she gets to me, she lays her head on me and grabs my leg. I hold her close, kiss her face, she smiles at me with her big blue eyes, and then goes back to playing. Five minutes later, she does it all over again. She makes sure I am still there, and lets me know she doesn’t want me to go far.

Then, I thought of you.

I thought about how much you wish you could pick your baby up and squeeze them whenever you wanted. I thought about how you would give anything to kiss your babies cheeks and see them smile up at you all day long. I thought about how hard it is for you to leave them every morning when they want you to stay.

I thought about you, the working mom who wishes she could be home.

This staying home with my babies’ thing, it’s hard, but never once do I want to forget how big of a blessing it is. We make a lot of sacrifices for this to be possible, but every one of them is worth it. Although I would much prefer my nap time solitude, I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to pick my crying baby up out of her crib. I don’t ever want to take this for granted.

Dear working mom, the one who wishes she could be home, whatever reason it is that keeps you from staying home I know it isn’t easy. I am proud of you for doing what you have to do to take care of your family. I am proud of you for pursuing the dream that you want,  outside of being mom. I am sorry for those of us that complain about how hard it can be staying home, when sometimes you wish you could be at home too. Thank you for reminding me to be grateful despite how hard it can be. Thank you for reminding me to not take for granted those extra snuggles, the meltdowns, the nap fighting, and the just one more times. I know you would give anything to be home for those moments. So, today I thought of you, the mom who wishes she could be home. I’ll try to be a little more grateful today.