Where are you at lunchtime? If you are anything like me, you are sitting at your desk, dropping crumbs into your keyboard, answering phone calls between bites.

We are not alone. Working Mother magazine surveyed its Smart Mom Council and found that 78 percent do take time for lunch....but the majority of us are either eating at our desks or running errands. Some break. We take no time for ourselves to maybe grab a bite with co-workers or spend some quiet time reading with our salad.

This is our problem, working moms. Or is it our strength? We do what we have to do to make it all work.

For years, I told myself that if I take a real lunch break, it just means I'll work later and miss time with my kids in the evening. I was not about to miss bath time or story time for work. Sacrificing a quiet lunch was worth it.

But now as the kids are getting older, they are busier with their own lives and friends. They don't need me in the same way. And I'm beginning to find that I do have a little more time for myself....This week, I've got two lunches scheduled with friends! And I doubt my kids will suffer for it.

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