My Working Mom Routine: A Reality Check for Gwyneth Paltrow

I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening. When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set. Gwyneth Paltrow {source}

Sigh…According to Gwyneth Paltrow having “a regular job” is not as challenging as “being on [the] set” of a movie.

This morning I woke up at about 4 am. The time I heard my 8 year old autistic son, Norrin, rustling around in his room trying to change out of his wet pajama pants. (We’ve been nighttime potty training him since January.) I walked in and found Norrin, trying to cover his soaked sheets with his blanket. “I can try again,” he said. “I can still get a surprise.” I explained that he only gets a surprise if he stays dry and brought him into our bed – I was too tired to make his bed.

Norrin wasn’t tired at all. He wriggled around in our bed for the next two hours.

At 6 am, I got up and took a quick shower. I was grateful it was Friday and could wear jeans to work. I removed the wet bedding from Norrin’s bed and left it in a pile on the floor. I gathered Norrin’s clothes for school. While my coffee was brewing, I washed last night’s dishes.

At 6:30 my husband, Joseph, woke up and helped Norrin get dressed. Some days we try to let him get dressed on his own, but this morning there was no time.

Like most mornings, we each take our turn in the bathroom, fighting for the mirror and sink – because we only have just one.  I sip my coffee. It’s lukewarm by now and I know I won’t have time to finish. This morning, I pass on putting on makeup and gather my hair in a bun. I’m too tired to care.

By 7:20 we all rush out the door. I kiss Norrin goodbye and wave as the school bus drives away. Norrin’s school is twenty miles away.

Joseph drops me off at the train station and kisses me goodbye. He’s off to his regular job. And I’m off to mine.

I will spend my day sitting in my cubicle answering phones, making copies and scheduling appointments – juggling the daily routine for 3 attorneys. And at 4pm my work day will be done. I’ll get back on the train and go home.

It’s Friday night and I have laundry to do. Remember those wet sheets and blanket? I also have all our clothes to wash and fold too. I’ll make dinner or maybe we’ll treat ourselves to takeout. I haven’t decided just yet.

Over the weekend I’ll clean and run errands. I’m also a writer and I have a few articles to write – in between laundry and cooking, that is. If the weather cooperates and if we have time – we’ll do something fun as a family.

There are no nannies or hired help. (There isn’t even a dish washer.) No one to chauffeur me around or do my hair and makeup. I take the train to work and a have a set schedule. As a blogger, I travel for work when I want. This is my daily routine. I get that the life a celebrity mom is different. But when it comes to challenges, there is no comparison. None.