Catherine Reitman, the creator and one of the stars of Workin' Moms [1], is, in my humble opinion, an undeniable legend. After Netflix picked up the first season of the Canadian TV series, women everywhere got the chance to laugh through motherhood's worst blunders thanks to the absolute absurdity that takes place on the show. And while there are a few favorite characters to choose from, Reitman — aka Kate Foster — is far and away the coolest one. Does she have her fair share of flaws? Of course; who doesn't? But this successful mom shows others that it's possible — albeit extremely hard — to do both. Scroll through to see why she's a hero with breast milk on her shirt, rather than a cape on her shoulders.
She doesn't pretend like motherhood is always perfect.
One of the greatest parts of Kate's character? She doesn't act like every second of motherhood is filled with rainbows and sunshine. Does she love her son Charlie? Duh, but she doesn't sugar-coat how challenging breastfeeding and pumping at work can be. She also acknowledges how difficult maintaining your marriage is post-baby. For example, she admits to having to schedule date nights with her husband Nathan, and we definitely feel seen.
She still has a sense of humor.
Despite trying to hold down a job and raise her son, Kate still cracks a hilarious joke now and then. Whether she's flashing her boobs at her exclusive mommy-and-me group or trying to chat up her coworkers, there's no denying she's on the ball in the humor department.
She isn't afraid to ask for help.
From the very first episode, it's clear that Kate and Nathan have hired a nanny. While it's hard for her to say goodbye to her son on her first day back, she doesn't feel bad about making money for her family. With the amount of pressure that's placed on moms to be in two places at once, it's refreshing to see a mother pick her head up and walk out the door to work. Sure, she experiences mom guilt throughout the first season [3], but in her heart she knows she's doing what's best for her family.
She still tries to make time for herself.
Do new moms usually have a ton of time to themselves? Absolutely not! But Kate uses her time outside of work very efficiently. Whether she's taking little Charlie out for a jog — who can forget the bear scene?! — or making time to have sex with her husband, Kate's aware that taking a sliver of time out of the day to do something for herself makes her a better mom [4].
She absolutely crushes it at work.
After going back to her job at an ad agency after nine months of maternity leave [5], it's no surprise that Kate felt a little unsure of herself at times. But regardless of how she was feeling on the inside, she stepped right back into her role as a big fish at the company during a big client meeting on her first day. Did the client call her out for having breast milk on her shirt? Yup. But she handled it with grace and made a good impression anyway, and that earns her major props.
She refuses to accept the idea that women should give up their careers after kids.
Throughout the first season, Kate grapples with whether or not she should take an amazing promotion in Montreal — the show is set in Toronto, so that's pretty far from home! — and finally agrees to take it despite pushback from Nathan. Although she certainly gets emotional at the thought of leaving her son Charlie for a few months, she knows taking a better job doesn't make her a bad mother. And frankly, sometimes we need to hear that more than we think.