Working Mamas: Mom Guilt

There’s a quiet kind of ache that working moms know all too well. It hits during daycare drop-off, when little hands cling tightly and eyes well up with tears. It creeps in during work meetings when your phone lights up with a picture from grandma, the daycare, or the sitter. And it screams the LOUDEST during moments you miss: first steps, school events, or bedtime stories that had to be told by someone else.

This ache has a name: mom guilt... And it’s heavy.

But here’s the truth I’ve had to remind myself of and maybe you do too:

"Just because I’m not there doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I’m working because I do."

Let’s be real: if love was measured in hours spent physically next to our children, many of us would feel like we’re failing. But love is so much more layered than presence. It’s in the long hours, the early mornings, and the late nights. It’s in showing up...for them even when you can’t be there with them.

We hustle because we’re building something.

Stability.

A future.

A legacy.

And often, our work is one of the greatest acts of love we can offer.

To our babies, the world is simple: mommy is here or she’s not. But one day, they’ll understand. They’ll see the sacrifices. They’ll recognize the strength. They’ll look back and know: “Mama worked hard because she believed in something bigger - for me.”

One day, they’ll walk confidently into a room because they watched you do it.

They’ll chase a dream, negotiate a raise, or start a business and it will be because they saw you paving the way.

Let’s Release the Shame!!

Can we stop pretending like being a mom and being ambitious are at odds? We don’t owe anyone the performance of a “perfect mother.” What we DO owe is something real: authenticity, effort, and love in all the forms it shows up.

Yes, your child may want more time with you. That longing is natural. But it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. You’re ALLOWED to want more for yourself. You're ALLOWED to want more for them, even if it means being away sometimes.

A Note to You, Mama

On the days the guilt creeps in, when you feel torn between a meeting and a milestone...breathe.

Remember: you are not less of a mother because you work. You are showing up for your family in ways they might not see yet, but will one day deeply understand.

So next time you whisper, “I love you” as you head out the door, remind yourself that those words don’t lose power just because you’re not physically there. They’re stitched into everything you do - for them.