Apples to Oranges to chicken nuggets

It's hard to miss the constant debate over who's job is harder or who sacrifices more, the stay at home mom or the mom working outside the home or like me the part timers who do a little of both. I have finally decided to weigh in. And my verdict is, there is nothing to debate! You can't even compare. It's like comparing, apples to oranges to chicken nuggets. I have worked full time outside the home when the kids were little. The stress was crazy including the guilt of not being with the kids more. I never had laundry, dishes, or grocery shopping done because I wanted to spend more time with the kids. Then I stayed home full time . I was stressed with messy kids, laundry that never stopped and I was constantly cleaning up kitchen messes. The stress was different, not worse or less just different. Now I work outside the home part time and stay home with the kids the other half of the time. Again I am stressed. This time my stressors are scheduling related and dealing with juggling all three kids with errands. Again the house is destroyed ( I have a babysitter comes into to the home) and I still can't get the grocery shopping done. I have many great skills but putting cleaning before fun stuff has never been a priority for me. But it seems my skills or lack of them are still the same whether I work in or out of the home. The challenge with parenting in all situations is juggling your workload to make a balance between family time and responsibilities. I still have not managed to do this and I might never gain this skill. But I do know for sure that my kids will be fine and they aren't lacking for love! The one piece of advice I can give to any current or future parent is this: Take a course in Project management. Learn to plan, prioritize, budget and organize a calendar. Parenting is a full time project with an organizational structure that is constantly changing.