<p>As a working mother, with a six-year-old son, my comprehension of work-life balance is grounded in reality. My son after school which closes by 1 pm would go to day care and by 5 pm, I would take him home. Thereafter he would play with friends for two hours and return home. That was the mom- son timetable. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Suddenly, one fine day bosses at the office decided to make the staff work an additional hour daily. The next day before he left for school as usual, I told my accommodative son, ‘beta, I will be late.’ He calmly replied, ‘fine, mom’… and I was relieved at his response. <br />Instead of 5 pm, I now returned home only around 6.30- 7 pm. One day his friends came home, but I told them that he could not come and he was asleep. Surprised, they remarked ‘so early?’ I said, ‘Shush…he is a good boy.’ My timetable suited me but not my son. But it happened repeatedly. And then slowly it dawned on me, that he is a good boy — but am I a good mother? Finally I told myself about the need to balance my life and these thoughts were pointless issues. <br /><br />Then monsoon set in and I started coming home late… and began to make excuses to my son, but he always said, ‘That’s ok momma.’ Then I started showering unnecessary attention on him — just to remind him about his mother’s love. But I did not realise that this was not to help him — but to make me feel good. Gradually my guilt led to introspection.<br /><br />One day his friends came, he was asleep in his clothes with shoes still on his feet. At that moment, it made we wonder whether or not I had snatched away his childhood from him? The next day similar thoughts flooded my head. Again I told myself not to be emotional and that your son needs to understand that you required the job. <br /><br />Coincidentally it rained heavily that day which led to a traffic jam and I reached his day care around 7.40 pm. I looked around, but he was not there. The staff said, ‘He was here only madam’ and all of us searched for him. It made me irritable and tense. When I saw him seated alone on a swing, I felt a sense of both relief and anger at the same time and I screamed at him, ‘We were all searching for you?’ He quietly asked me, ‘Mom, did your bus break down today?’ After he uttered those words, my knees buckled and I sat down and hugged him…I had no answer to his question and I remained silent. <br /><br />Next day, I promptly resigned my job. Naturally my boss was curious and listened to my work-life struggle, which he as a father with a six-year-old was moved to tears. He gracefully accepted the letter and said, ‘Your son certainly needs you more than us.’ That evening, as I spent a lot of time playing and joking with my son, the meaning of work-life balance became crystal clear to me.</p>
<p>As a working mother, with a six-year-old son, my comprehension of work-life balance is grounded in reality. My son after school which closes by 1 pm would go to day care and by 5 pm, I would take him home. Thereafter he would play with friends for two hours and return home. That was the mom- son timetable. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Suddenly, one fine day bosses at the office decided to make the staff work an additional hour daily. The next day before he left for school as usual, I told my accommodative son, ‘beta, I will be late.’ He calmly replied, ‘fine, mom’… and I was relieved at his response. <br />Instead of 5 pm, I now returned home only around 6.30- 7 pm. One day his friends came home, but I told them that he could not come and he was asleep. Surprised, they remarked ‘so early?’ I said, ‘Shush…he is a good boy.’ My timetable suited me but not my son. But it happened repeatedly. And then slowly it dawned on me, that he is a good boy — but am I a good mother? Finally I told myself about the need to balance my life and these thoughts were pointless issues. <br /><br />Then monsoon set in and I started coming home late… and began to make excuses to my son, but he always said, ‘That’s ok momma.’ Then I started showering unnecessary attention on him — just to remind him about his mother’s love. But I did not realise that this was not to help him — but to make me feel good. Gradually my guilt led to introspection.<br /><br />One day his friends came, he was asleep in his clothes with shoes still on his feet. At that moment, it made we wonder whether or not I had snatched away his childhood from him? The next day similar thoughts flooded my head. Again I told myself not to be emotional and that your son needs to understand that you required the job. <br /><br />Coincidentally it rained heavily that day which led to a traffic jam and I reached his day care around 7.40 pm. I looked around, but he was not there. The staff said, ‘He was here only madam’ and all of us searched for him. It made me irritable and tense. When I saw him seated alone on a swing, I felt a sense of both relief and anger at the same time and I screamed at him, ‘We were all searching for you?’ He quietly asked me, ‘Mom, did your bus break down today?’ After he uttered those words, my knees buckled and I sat down and hugged him…I had no answer to his question and I remained silent. <br /><br />Next day, I promptly resigned my job. Naturally my boss was curious and listened to my work-life struggle, which he as a father with a six-year-old was moved to tears. He gracefully accepted the letter and said, ‘Your son certainly needs you more than us.’ That evening, as I spent a lot of time playing and joking with my son, the meaning of work-life balance became crystal clear to me.</p>
