The life of a working lady is not easy. This is something that I've been trying to prove my whole life. There are people around me who assume that being a working lady is a piece of cake. Those people include almost every other human being I know. My usual day starts with the struggle to get up. “Get up Saira, its 6:00 A.M.” “Ok, I'll get up after 15 minutes”. And I'm off to sleep again. BANG!!! “Oh God! its 7:00 A.M. already, you traitor alarm clock, why do you always go off”. But it didn't actually, I snoozed it myself. It's a routine for me. Every night, I promise myself that I'll get up early, finish my morning chores and will reach office timely and every other morning, it's a complete disaster. “Alright, Ammar, please empty the room, I need to get the kids ready for school”. That's me to my husband every morning, literally pushing him out of the bed so I can get complete bed space to make my kids ready. “Come on, Hania and Sameer, it's time for school.” After making the announcement, now I am ready for my kids tantrums. “Mom, I cannot get up, my legs are hurting real bad”. That's my daughter Hania “achoo… achooo…” that's my son Sameer sneezing continuously to get a day off from school. “Hania, if your legs are hurting real bad then I am sure that you can just keep sitting at your desk and don't even play with your friends to get some rest for yourself.” “And my dear Sameer, it'll take more than a simple sneeze to convince me that you are having bird flu or congo virus”. After rejecting all the non-verbal leave applications; now it's time to move to the next phase of getting them ready for school. “Stop jumping on the bed Sameer”. “Come here Hania, you had enough rotations around the bed, if you had been planet Earth; you would have completed a year by now”. Now moving to the next phase i.e. feeding all the three babies including my husband. “Mom, I will not eat without my candy”. That's Hania asking for her doll to accompany her for breakfast. “I want to see wheels on the bus”. That's Sameer making another demand. “Honey, I cannot find my breakfast”. That's my husband trying to find something that is not even lost. “Hania, you can eat with anyone you want as long as you finish your meal.” “Sameer, I have switched on the television so you can watch anything you want. Now please just eat your breakfast” “Sweetheart, if you would just come out of the kitchen and look at the dining table, you will find your breakfast lying right on it.” Now since everyone has their meal so now we are ready to take off. “It's your turn to drop the kids at school so have a nice trip”. This is my husband leaving for office freely and happily. “Alright kids, Sameer will sit at the front seat and Hania, go the back seat NOW.” After making all the seating arrangements, it is time for school now. “Will you stop fighting over who is going to sit at the front seat after the school goes off? Please also leave some drama for your father when he'll come to pick you up.” After playing a referee for about 15 to 20 minutes among my children, I am successful in dropping them off at the school. And now moving out of the traffic outside the school is another hard nut to crack. “For God's sake, why are you coming on one way in the opposite direction?” “What makes you remember that you have to turn right when you are in the last lane at the left side?” Finally, after crossing a complete Sahara desert of traffic, I am able to reach my office late as usual. “Asalaam-O-Alaikum”. Paying salutations to my boss's personal secretary is essential at this time of hour. “Walaikum-us-Salaam, Ms. Saira, you are late again”. He made me realized something I already knew. “I know sir, it's just that I'm constantly juggling so many household tasks in the morning and it becomes difficult to manage everything timely. At times, it gets tough to balance work and personal life”. “Oh yes I can understand. But you can still try to manage your time. If you would just get up a bit early, you might be able to manage your daily tasks efficiently.” “I'll try sir”. I nodded my head in compliance even when my heart was in denial. As soon as I entered my floor, one of my co-workers remarked: “The life of a working lady is a blessing. You can come anytime you want.” “Indeed it is. Don't you wish you were a woman.” I said “I am happy being a man.” He said firmly. “Are you sure you are happy because that does not appear to be the case.” One of my female colleague remarked. “What makes you think that?” “Well it's obvious you see. If you would have been a woman, you'll have the freedom to come late. But you would have to actually work during the office hours instead of merely pretending to work. How does that seem now.” Finally this comment of my friend made my day as I don't need to prove now what life of a working woman is actually like. “Here's to another roller coaster ride”. I say to myself and get to work.