Thou Shalt Not Judge
Human beings are always looking over at the next guy and judging his actions and their results. Resist this impulse, please. Or if you must judge, keep it to yourself.
Life is long, and you never know when you'll be forced to eat your words. Whenever you start to say, "I could never ... " bite your tongue. Many a diehard working mom has surprised herself by quitting her job once the kids hit grade school or the teen years.
Thou Shall Nurture Adult Relationships
If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So make sure to spend time on your marriage, close family members and friends. Those adult relationships will sustain you when you're stressed or in crisis.
Don't forget the most important relationship -- with yourself. Take time each week (or each day, if you can) on activities that nourish your soul.
Thou Shall Enjoy Thine Work
We all work for different reasons. Whether it's for the money, helping others or job satisfaction, identify the reasons that you work and own that choice.
Then, take pleasure in the parts of your job that you enjoy, to reinforce the positive aspect of being a working mom. Even if it's simply the paycheck hitting your bank account each week!
Thou Shalt Not Feel Guilty
Once you take ownership of your choice to work, refuse to feel guilty. There are plenty of people who want to undermine you as a working mom -- please ignore those comments that trigger working moms guilt.
Guilt is an emotion that you feel when you've done something wrong. There's nothing wrong with contributing to the financial support and stability of your family -- and the college fund.
Thou Shall Prioritize Ruthlessly
When I became a new working mom, suddenly I had little time for lingering water-cooler chats with co-workers. I finished my projects with exactly the amount of work needed, and just said no to the extraneous interview or piece of research.
In fact, each morning I write down the top three things I must accomplish that day. I tackle them first, because you never know when a call to pick up a sick child might quash the rest of the day's work.
