The Working Mom Reality Show

#WorkingMom

Last Friday night I posted a photo of me and my husband on Instagram. We were on our way to an event. I was in full makeup and a formal dress coat was covering my gown. channeled my inner Beyonce,  struck a pose and did my best attempt at a sultry pout.  I thought I did a reasonable job with the photo. Based on the comments, most folks thought I nailed it. I followed it up with a photo of me and my friends, and that was well liked too.

Channeling Beyonce

Then, I started to feel like a bit of a fraud... I mean sure the Friday night photos were glamorous and they were real. I had just captured photos of myself going out on the town. But they didn't represent the entire picture. In my real life, I scrub toilets, make lunches and sometimes oversleep.

Working Moms are the Ultimate Chameleons

Indeed, one day, the week prior, I took my daughter to the bus stop wearing my bathrobe and a head wrap because my dear husband who usually takes her to the bus stop had overslept and was nowhere to be found. The options were, take her to school and arrive to work later than usual and earn her a tardy slip or take her to the bus stop "as is". I chose option #2.

With My Girls

My daughter admonished me and said, "Maybe you should start getting dressed earlier." Note her admonishment did not include instructions for her father. #IJS

Anyway, after I posted the glamour shots, I imagined that the mothers who were at the bus stop on the "regular day" saw the glamour shot and commented, "That ain't how she looked on Monday." Needless to say, the thoughts that run through my head are powerful because they motivated me to post a shot of me looking far less glamorous.

Working Moms Can Do it All!

Working mom going to the bus stop

I posted a a shot of me having tea sans makeup. I thought it was important for me to portray the truth. The truth is, mothers are multifaceted or "chameleons" as my girl Tasha Grinnell of Dallas, Texas recently commented on my Instagram page. In order to "do it all"--work, childcare, and household management--without losing our ever loving mind--we wear many hats and have lots of uniforms. 

The days of women waiting for our husbands to go to sleep to wash off our makeup and rising to put it on before he rises like the wife does in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". These days, women are real. We are doing it all and we shouldn't be afraid to show it. I'm not!

To See More:

Check out my BFF, working mom extraordinaire, Tyyawdi Hands on "To Have and to Hold: Charlotte" on Saturday nights (10:00 PM) on OWNTV.