A Week In this Working Mom’s Life

It’s been one year since the launch of the blog and I’ve failed at keeping it going after my return to work. I knew I wanted to post something today to commemorate and after some deliberation I thought it might be interesting to share a week of this Mom’s life- and all of the internal dialogue, reflection, and struggle that comes with it.

Sunday: Left at 5:45 am for a week of travel to make it to a golf outing with a customer that we’re trying to build a relationship with. Sounds fun, but prior to this, we had to have serious conversations about why Mom had to leave on Sunday as this breaks my rule of no Sunday travel whenever possible. I had to get all my snuggles and weekending in one day, ensure schedules are communicated (darn parent teacher conferences and dentist appointments, and figure out how to get golf and conference attire to fit in my carry-on.

Monday: Start of our biggest customer event of work. Long days from 7am to midnight or later depending on who you run into. Sneak in a facetime with the kiddos between the conference and ending the day with a big dinner in downtown Nashville with Canadian customers. Lots of engaging conversation around Canadian and American politics, while using a lot of buzzwords like IIOT, Digital transformation, Machine Learning, and Analytics. I feel smart and out of my league at the same time.

Tuesday: Meetings start prior to conference at 7 am again. I was part of the planning committee that brings a spotlight on Women in male dominant industry. This year we brought in Dr. Jen Welter to speak about her experience as a leader in another male dominated field of football. Big customer dinner that evening which I hosted and had to do a toast for. Although enjoying some career highs, I also experienced some mom guilt which always visits me on the third night away. It’s quelled by pictures of kids that are happy and alive ( yay-technology), and the fact that I have an incredible support system (Hubs packed lunched, played chauffer, and took the girls to the aforementioned dentist appointments) and my mom was over to help.

Wednesday: Another 7:00 am meeting start ( why?). More customer face time, one big negotiation, and several internal meetings.  My introvert battery is drained. Coffee is being mainlined, I’m breathing in recirculated air of a huge conference facility and hotel, and I’m more tired than when up all night with the babies but accept plans to go out to see live music anyways- because I can. Later that evening, as I look around the crowd made up of several of my colleagues and many of my employees, I have a proud mom moment with my work family- recognizing being a part of a strong team that challenges and respects each other and enjoys being around each other is a unique and special thing. I feel excited that I’m helping to build the future of the company (and the world), and that I can show them that you can work hard and play hard too (even this tired-ass boss mom of three can enjoy the moments.)

Thursday:I decided to leave early and get home to the family and some commitments, but not after a breakfast panel about supporting and advocating for women where one of my heroes participated and shared her story and perspective, followed by two more customers meetings (all before 10 am). Before leaving, I squeezed in another moment with a colleague turned friend who wanted to ensure she had time to check-in (very timely given the panel to start the day). Everyone needs people like that in their lives ( thanks, you know who you are) and it made me feel like I am doing something right. She made it an effort to connect and I felt better because of it, and was reminded to slow down because these connections matter. Arrived early to pick up the kids from their after school program and although happy to see me they were bummed that I showed up early (can’t ever win). My mom cooked dinner for the family, and it felt good to be home despite being wakened at 3 am by a sick screaming baby that doesn’t know you went to bed at 3 am the night before. Oh, the irony.

Friday:

I had a day of calls planned, a massage, lunch with the kids, and parent teacher conferences, but a sick baby J altered my day- and instead ended up figuring out a way to squeeze in a parent teacher conference during lunch and dropping some goodies off for the teachers ( gotta optimize the schedule and try and get some good teacher karma for when I inevitably forget what I signed up for), heading to the doctor, and taking some work calls with a screaming baby in the background. Tell me someone else has tried to type as quietly as possible to avoid waking the sleeping sick one year sleeping across their lap because they won’t nap in their crib and instead wants to be stuck on you. We don’t often get to snuggle all day, but I’m pretty sure its what the doctor ordered for both of us, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

I enjoy being a career minded mom and travelling for work, I enjoy being a mom of three and all of the joys and challenges it brings, I am passionate about career development for my team and others, and I am constantly seeking to be a role model and to bring women’s issues and diversity conversations to the table. While this week was atypical, I feel like I was able to be all of these versions of me throughout this week. It’s not easy and many times thriving in one of the areas comes at a cost to another. I am not perfect and I can’t do any of this without help and support, but every day I get up and am thankful for the opportunity to be any one of these things.