One TV Mom Figures Out How To Have It All
My friend, Lori, is nuts.
Some would say.
Who walks away from a job she worked more than 20 years to get?
A job she loves.
A job with perks.
Who does that?
A certain kind of woman.
Also known as,
A mom.
“My kids are now 9 and 5, precious ages I don’t want to miss,” she shared this week on Facebook.
Trading in 9-5 for her kids 9 and 5.
Except Lori’s job wasn’t 9-5.
Whose is these days?
Which led to Lori’s choice.
Going full-time mom. Part-time TV.
And yet, with one hand on the doorknob, Lori looked over her shoulder, giving nod to her career.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunities that await,” she added.
“There will be opportunities,” I assured her smiling at how her perspective is about to change once she gets on the other side.
There will be the opportunity to spend time with your kids in the car as you usher them from place to place.
Opportunity to wonder if you’re simply a glorified Uber driver when one child will pop up with a precious question or conversation from the backseat.
There’s the opportunity to wear a new uniform.
Each day, picking which t shirt you bought on sale from Old Navy.
If it’s clean and has no stains, this will be a bonus.
If it doesn’t,
Then, oh well.
The opportunity to be you, not professional you.
Just you.
And find out who your real friends are.
The opportunity to make dinner for your family,
Which will mean some Hallmark card moments,
And some where your kids tell you they wish they could just eat fast food every night.
It’s not all going to be pretty.
But it’s going to be.
A chapter,
You will not regret.
A chapter that,
Just like this current, over demanding job,
Will end.
I know because I see my own wrapping up.
With one kid a senior, the other a junior in high school, this chapter is quickly coming to a close.
These two, my girls, need me less and less everyday. Sniff, sniff.
I feel my career engine revving up.
So, I’m dipping toes.
Talking to my network about what opportunities are out there.
Not a single one so far involves wearing my hair up in a scrunchie all day.
This is unfortunate.
And a reminder that you can have it all.
Just not all at the same time.
Some bemoan this.
I revel in it.
I would no more want to have it all at the same then I would want to shove an entire holiday dinner in my mouth all at once.
Smoked salmon dip spread on a cracker.
Roast beef drizzled with creamy horseradish sauce.
Too many Christmas cookies.
Separately, the delectable foods of this once a year feast are delicious.
All at the same time would ruin it.
Truth is, this isn’t just about one mom downsizing her career.
I get that not all moms have that choice.
This is about any choice.
The thing your younger self would tell you you’re crazy to give up.
Maybe crazy is just another way of saying, “opportunity.”
To not grab it,
To see it as the season of your life that is right now,
Well, that,
In my opinion,
Would simply be nuts.
(((Please catch my column each week in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Dayton Daily News and other Cox Newspapers across the country.)))
And if you enjoy this column about motherhood you might enjoy my book,
