Mom's Second Job

The other day I inexplicably turned on The Today Show while making the bed and I was horrified by a segment that profiled a working mother who had picked up a second job in order to make ends meet. In itself, the piece wasn't remarkable except that the tone was exuberant, as if second jobs were the hot new accessory for working moms. Second jobs were touted as the solution to high gas and food prices. Second jobs will save the middle class. Hooray for second jobs!

I find it hard to believe that 1) the solution to the problem of soaring prices for basic needs rests on the already heavily-laden shoulders of working mothers, and 2) the way for American families to make ends meet is to work more.

If one woman picking up some after-hours tailoring work is going to end rice shortages, gas price hikes and $5-per-gallon milk, I'll gladly become a part-time caterer during evenings and weekends to end genocide and reduce global warming. Because that's how planetary-scale crises are solved, right? Ladies, how did these immense and complex problems fall upon us and our already-precious non-working time?

Angela, the Today Show's guest expert, added that the most important consideration with working moms' second jobs is to ensure that the work doesn't interfere with your primary job. Really? That's the most important factor? Don't worry if you become estranged from your husband after falling into bed exhausted after the evening shift at your other career. Shrug and keep going if your children haven't seen you in four days and can't remember the last time you smiled. Don't fret if your idea of rest and relaxation is a nap on the subway between jobs. Just make sure that Boss #1 is taken care of!

So many working mothers have only a tiny sliver of time each evening to care for home and family -- most are stretched to their limit already. Already they finish their work day, run to childcare, pick up the kids, feed them, help with homework, tuck everyone in, then fall asleep themselves, just to start the routine all over again the next day. Where does job #2 fit?

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