I'm a Mother Who Works

January 27, 2008 I was sitting in an fireside for Relief Society surrounded by other women. The speaker was our bishop's wife who also happened to be the Dean of the College of Health and Human Performance at BYU. She was talking about balancing life as a mother while working. She talked about the phrase "working mom" and said she always clarified and said "I'm a mother who works." This really struck a chord with me.

I am a mother who works.

Motherhood always comes first. My primary role is to nurture our children. I happen to enjoy getting an education as well as working as a Marriage & Family Therapist. I love spending time with our little boy and I love spending time learning, researching and helping people in their own lives. I can do both and that's okay.

I wrote a paper during my undergraduate education entitled Motherhood, Education or Both? I researched statements from past church officials and also looked at what research had found. The answer: You do what works for you. If you are happy as a person, you will be a better and more devoted wife and mother. This requires a lot of reality checking and, sometimes, it's not pretty and other times it is wonderful.