To have said that I see going to work on Monday as a bit of a rest?

[LittleOneMum]

I have two children, DS (3) and DD (9 months). They are both pretty exhausting, I don't need to preach to you lot, you know what 2 energetic tinies are like. This weekend, they were particularly exhausting as we all had nasty colds and DD decided to wake several times in the night and as DH had important football to go to play AND watch I basically was alone with them all weekend.
So on Monday I went back to work (I work P/T) and was accosted my a female colleague in the corridor. The conversation went like this:
Her: "Oh hello LittleOne, you've recently come back from maternity leave, haven't you? It must be such a wrench leaving your two!"

Me: "Not really, no, frankly on Mondays I love coming to work for a bit of a rest".

Her (shocked silence): "I've never heard a woman say that before".

Me: "Er, just being honest. I do love and miss them, it's just nice to have a break sometimes, especially as I love the job".

Her: "Hm. I think it is odd".

I had a cry in the toilets, I am ashamed to say. Because I do love them. AIBU to really like being away from them sometimes?

I do get home every night for bath and bed, on case you think I'm mental career woman.

YANBU

I feel the same! I LOVED being back at work after 11 months of mat leave and I still look forward to my 2 days a week at work. It keeps me sane! My job can be quite stressful at times too

Defo NBU..similar aged DCs and i would love to have a job to escape have a break from them sometimes

LOM, I know exactly how you feel. Even though my job is hard, and often bloody noisy, it's a rest compared to being with DS and DP.

What's your job?

YANBU to think it's a rest to go to work but never ever say it to a colleague - they will think you are not working hard enough at work.

I'm a lawyer and I worked bloody to hard to get where I am and I work hard now - and it is still a rest!

YANBU to feel like this but a tiny bit to say it.

Try to look at it from the other side. If she works full time and doesn't have children she can feel that you imply she does nothing. I say this as someone who had children late in life and i remember comments like this felt irritating. (although i now know what they meant )

I'm a student SAHM and I spend all weekend desperate for monday to come so I can get a break from the older two for 5 hours hile they're at school.

Most mothers I know feel the same so there's nothing odd about it at all. You can love your children just fine without having to enjoy the endless squabbling, whining, screaming and tantrums that ensue when they're cooped up in the house with you!

Yanbu. I love my job and am really looking forward to going back at the end of my maternity leave. My job is part of who I am so it feels strange not to be there. I share childcare with DH so maybe it would be different if I used a childminder/nursery.
I work full time and so does DH but my hours are pretty child friendly so I guess that makes a difference too.
If it's right for you then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks :)

YANBU - I've heard loads of mums and dads say this. That woman clearly had no sense of humour, no children, or has never/can't remember being a SAHM. Ignore.

Am i the ony one who thinks that saying this to someone who works full time is a bit rude?

I have heard loads of women say this, along with how they love being at work because they get to drink hot tea/ coffee, go to the toilets by themselves and so on. YADNBU.

I think it's at best tactless Laquitar, and unlikely to go down well. It's like saying 'You think you work hard - ha! you don't know the meaning of hard work!' and the person you have said it too might get pissed off and think to herself 'Well she probably doesn't work as hard at work as I do then!'

I used to work in a department where there was horrendous oneupmanship about how hard everyone worked - if you said you'd seen something on tv you'd get 'Oh I wish I had time to watch tv!' It would not have gone down well there....

Exactly seth!

I don't think it's rude to acknowledge that at some stages of family life, work can be a blessed relief. I used to LOVE my Monday mornings back at work. Decent cup of coffee, just me and the computer, noone screeching or yelling or falling over or crying. Bliss. Compared to the hard graft of 3 under 5s.

Even now life has calmed down at home, I still enjoy that first bit of work on a Monday morning. the peace and calm.

lol at Seth though, I made the mistake once of telling my boss that since we'd moved to a pretty bit of the country, a holiday hotspot, we felt as though we were on holiday full time. "Not at work, though?" she suggested. Ahem. no. of course not... I meant "WHEN NOT AT WORK".

YANBU, I haven't even had my LO and am already looking forward to the independence of work. I am taking a year out after birth to take care of the LO and know that by the end of it I will feel exactly how you feel now. Doesn't mean you love them any less or have done something wrong. Can I ask if the colleague has any kiddies?

Crikey, what a bitch!

You are SO NBU!

oh i feel like that sometimes, particularly when the dds have been extra hard work over the weekend

and am quite into my work at the moment so i was actually impatient to get in on Monday

YANBU!

i can't wait to go to work for a day off tomorrow, after being off for a year.. (3 under 5) love them to bits, love them even more when I have a bit of a break.

YANBU. When I was working, before being made redundant, I definitely thought work was easier than being on maternity leave!

My DD is now 2.5 and goes to nursery on Mondays so that I can have a bit of a break and get all of the housework out of the way. I look forward to Monday mornings sooo much, although I love her to bits and picking her up from nursery is the highlight of my day.

Every working woman I know - some of whom very high-powered - would know exactly what you mean by work being a rest.

It might be a "wrench" to be on a 2-week work trip...but not till then IMO.

YANBU!!