I am an average, run of the mill working mom.
I am not trying to "have it all," at least by society’s
expectations. I am not trying to relentlessly climb the corporate ladder or
shatter the glass ceiling. I am not trying to "Lean In" to
everything. {I do not like Sheryl Sandburg but that is another post for another
time.} I am not trying to win all the awards and know everyone in my town and
have all the contacts.
I've been there and done that. I've worked the 60+ hours a week.
I've worked from home in the evenings and into the wee hours of the morning.
I've been the first to arrive to the office and the last to leave and I've
sacrificed so much more along the way, that I cringe to look back and think of
it now. And do you know where all that hard work got me?
Nowhere.
Yep, that's right. Nowhere. I'm not a Vice President, a CEO or
an Executive Director. I'm not jet-setting or power-lunching. And that's OK
with me - it's a conscience choice I've made along the way as a working gal. While
I've done some pretty cool things during my career and won a few awards here
and there, when I look back - and think forward - with regards to my career, I
have to wonder if all those 60+ hours a week were worth the time I lost with family,
my child, friends and loved ones. Was it worth the holidays and family I
neglected to be with because I succumbed to the pressure of feeling like I had
to be in the office for fear of not being viewed as the "team
player?" Was it worth cancelling dinner plans with good friends because I
felt the need to stay at the office to just get one more project done instead?
More so, was it worth me straining myself to get to an interview - only 4 days
after having a C-Section - for a position that I thought would take me to the
next level because the woman in HR told me that it was pretty much then or
never? Yes, you read that right. I had just had major abdominal surgery, given
birth and was told it was now or never...and I went...all because I felt the
pressure to "have it all." Was it worth all of these things and more
that I sacrificed just so I could keep someone else's bottom line plush and
running?
No, I don't think so.
Now that I'm a mom, it's even more important to me to keep a
healthy perspective on the work|life balance. Yes, it is my choice to work and
I enjoy being a working mom. I feel that fostering my own interests and wants
helps to make me a better mom and yes, I also have to work. I have bills to pay
and a family to provide for BUT the more important question for me these days
is - at what price and what cost? I am no longer willing to sacrifice my family
and personal time just to keep others fat, rich and happy.
So what am I willing to do?
Simply put, I want to put in an honest day's work for an honest
day's pay. I simply want to do my 9 - 5, give my all while I'm on the clock and
go home to my family at the end of the day while leaving it all behind because
when it's all said and done, it's just a job. I'm not looking to blaze trails
or be a trend-setter. At this point in my life, I'm simply trying to find a way
to take care of my family while doing something I enjoy and getting paid to do
so at the same time. A job is how I earn a living but it's not my life. I guess
some would call me lazy. Others, I'm sure, will say that I have no ambition and
give working moms a bad name. I really don't care. What do I choose to call
myself?
Wise.
Because you see, I think as working moms we've all been sold a
bill of goods that just stinks and I'm not willing to buy it anymore. We've
been told time and time and time again that "You can have it all! You can
do it all! Just Lean In a little more!" and I'm sorry ladies, but as much
as we'd like to think this is true, it just isn't. No matter how amazing and
capable you are, you cannot possibly do it all. You cannot be all things to all
people - one facet of your life will always suffer.
I learned this lesson the hard way after my daughter was born
and I returned to the workplace. I found myself hunched over my laptop at home
in-between trying to cook dinner and feed a baby stressing over projects and
feeling as if I had to return work emails I received at 10 p.m. because I had
an iPhone that the company paid for - in their eyes, there was no excuse for
emails to not be read and replied to when received "You have an iPhone.
You always have access. Get it done!" was the mentality. And in return,
what did I get? Well, I'm pretty sure I missed out on some of my daughter's
first steps and I'm also pretty certain that there were times when she wanted
my attention but I was too busy trying to "have it all" that she was
either totally ignored or only getting half of me... you know... the "Okay
sweetie, hold on. Let me finish this email first" mom.
You see, as working moms, we can't have it all. A line has to be
drawn in the sand at some point. There has to be a balance to it all. I refuse
to believe anymore that in order for me to "have it all" it means
that I have to be a constant ball of nerves stressing over what has to be more
of the priority for me today - my daughter or my job?
So no, I don't want to "have it all." I don't want to
just "Lean In" a little more. I'm perfectly fine where I am, thank
you very much. Work has me from 9 - 5 but my family - my daughter - have my
life. In my eyes, that is having it all.
