Working, as usual.” Enough already.īalance is overrated, stop trying to have it all. Trying to achieve a “balanced life” only results in making you feel more guilty. You?' Instead, I’d just say, “Oh, you know. Friends would often call me up to go shopping or out to lunch, saying, “What are you doing today?” I really wanted to reply, “Running a multi-million dollar business. Believe it or not, we can run a wildly successful biz while wiping snot from kids' noses. Work-at-home Moms (aka WAHMs) are 'not real business people' to the outside world. My friends' and family's perception of what I did for a living was wildly inaccurate. The confident, successful corporate career gal was slowly disappearing. Hanging out in my comfy clothes all day and driving around in my 'sensible' car began to chip away at my self-esteem. Out of the blue, for some unexplainable reason, they'd be inspired to draw on my walls. It wasn't long before I discovered that the sound of a ringing phone turned my otherwise well-behaved daughters into little monsters. I took on the challenges of not only learning a new business model, but also figuring out how to run a business with my 3 and 5-year-old. So in 1990, I took a leap of faith and traded in my “have it all” corporate career to start a direct sales business and became a Mompreneur. Suddenly, I realized.while my corporate income was providing a mommy stand-in for my daughters, I was missing out on all the important milestones in their lives. At the end of the day, I’d drag my exhausted self to bed, only to have wake up the next day and repeat my hectic schedule. There was still laundry to do and dinner duty, not to mention bedtime rituals. On the outside it looked ideal, but on the inside? I was miserable. I bought into it, too - climbing that corporate ladder straight out of college and enjoying the fruits of a two-income household, including a 4-bedroom home in the 'burbs and a BMW in the driveway. Striving for perfection as mom, wife and career woman only results in more mommy guilt. Since the 80s, women have been sold the “you can have it all” mantra.

Kiss mommy goodbye