Ladies who lunch

I often dream about what I would do all day if I didn't work. I'd leisurely wake up sans alarm, lay in bed watching The Today Show with a diet coke, put on adorable work out clothes and go meet my trainer, return home, shower and get dressed in an equally adorable outfit for lunch, meet a few friends for lunch and wine, run a few errands and then cook dinner while watching Ellen, taking care not to burn myself since she is laugh-out-loud funny.

In all reality, if I didn't work, I would likely fill my days with volunteering and projects, as I am only happy when I am busy. Not to mention, the above scenario doesn't really work with a baby at home.

I actually love working and would likely choose to work regardless of what our financial situation was or wasn't. I thrive on the adult interaction, and I enjoy contributing to our house in that way. The husband can't say quite as much about my pension for pedicures or smocked clothes addiction when I work, right? College-schmoledge, we shall save for that next week! (He may or may not be signing me up for Smocked Clothes Anonymous...)

Don't get me wrong, being a working mom is very hard at times. There's the guilt (has anyone else noticed that every post on every topic having to do with parenthood involves some sort of guilt?) and the constant worry about whether anyone else can take care of your child as well as you can. There's the feeling torn in 10,000 directions and feeling stretched too thin. But at the end of the day, the satisfaction and confidence that I get from working outweighs all of that, and I truly believe I am a happier person and better mother because I work. Which is a very personal decision.

Since I choose not to be a lady of leisure (ha! staying at home with children is anything but leisurely), I choose to be a lady who lunches to celebrate milestones at work. Last week I took our team out to Coquette, which is a fabulous restaurant. All of the food was ridiculously good. We tasted shrimp, fried oysters, beet salad, beignets, skirt steak and more. We practically had to be rolled out of there.

The atmosphere is really fun as well, and it was so nice to get out of the office for a leisurely lunch. I really want to go back on a day when I can actually partake in the $5 wine, though. The irony is that if I didn't work, the last thing I'd be doing on a Wednesday at Noon is eating at Coquette, so working absolutely has its advantages!