Working Mom?

Today I was knee deep in information technology terms, percentages and graphs that really mean absolutely nothing to me. I was assigned a most extensive "Interview Test" in which I had three assignments of various natures, and a total estimated time of four hours to finish. I think I spent around 12 hours just trying to figure out what the heck any of it meant, let alone creating a news release, power point presentation and a marketing and public relations plan. I am sort of dreading what will happen if I get called in for a second interview at this place. Maybe they will ask me to build a computer using three sheets of metal, a monkey and a bobby pin. It is the most exercise my brain has gotten in a long time, and I suppose, if just for that it was worth it.

Believe me, I am not holding my breath anymore after I interview for jobs. Maybe it took ten rejections for me to finally not get upset, but at least I figured it out. To be quite honest, things are sometimes a little humorous, especially as I get bigger and bigger. Every time I put on my pre-pregnancy suit I have to laugh. The pants don’t even come close to buttoning or zipping, so I have to use a belt to close them up, which is at its last notch. Then, I ever so cleverly wear a big shirt over it all, so people just think that I have a huge beer gut. Pretty soon I will have to wear moo moos and just pretend that I have a “unique” style and a “go with the flow” personality.

On top of that, I have to think about what will happen once the baby arrives, if I am so lucky to be employed. I am not in the position to be a stay at home mom, so I need to think about options for the baby when I go back to work. I have the kind of mind that will not stop strategic planning, even when there are no concrete plans to strategize. I am very good at the “what ifs” and quite frankly, I think it is taking a toll on my sanity.

It seems as though magazines are bombarding me with articles with titles like “A Mother’s Hardest Decision” and “Just Give Up Now Your Career is Over, Brianne” (actually, I made that one up). But, in this month’s Oprah, they had this huge spread about working moms and women who don’t have children by choice or coincidence. I didn’t even think about how women may hate me now in the workplace if I got special treatment like flex time, leaving early or even maternity leave. It sucks I tell you. Not only are women still not treated equally in the working world even without children, but women have to be pregnant, birth the child and then be a primary caretaker. Then, she is expected to work, too. Snap.

Sorry for the rant. I am trying to healthfully exercise my frustration rather than eating half a bag of chips and French onion dip.