This has been a bad day. It started at 6:30 am with my 2-year-old clinging onto me while screaming and crying "Don't go, Mommy!!!" He had to be pried away while I ran for the car. Unfortunately, I couldn't get inside my car. I left my keys in the house and had to return to my out-of-control toddler. He grabbed onto my legs and was dragged while I tried to shimmy to the front door. The entire time, I am saying to myself, "What kind of mother are you leaving your child in such a state while you pursue your career goals?" At the same time, however, I didn't want to give into his fit and lose a power struggle with a 2-year-old. Five minutes later, while driving through a flood of tears, I received a phone call saying that he was happily eating his oatmeal and watching "Arthur".

How ironic that my last segment was on the topic of guilt. Although there are things that parents can do to avoid being paralyzed by guilt, the reality is that as long as we have conflicting priorities (and who doesn't), we will continue to struggle with this emotion regardless of the justifications we use for the choices we make.

1 Comments

Nancy said:

That is one of the most difficult things for me to face as a parent . . . child clinging, crying uncontrollably, and me trying to rush off to work! I'm so glad there are other people experiencing the same things!

October 13, 2006 11:54 AM

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