There was this picture that I saw many years and it passed a very strong message to me which was never to give up on my dream because of my children or whatever excuse I may come up with. It was actually a picture of a woman breastfeeding her baby while sitting on a parliament meeting.
It's so easy to get inspired and make plans on how you can juggle between being a perfect mum and having a wonderful career when you are still without kids until when you actually have them ; it will turn into a different ball game.
I have lost count of how many times I want to drop everything and run because it's all so overwhelming.
Being in that situation right now made me to actually give accolade to mothers starting from the ones that have an excellent career to the ones that run small businesses who show up every day inspite of all obstacles and endless demand from the home front.
Few years ago, I read about how a mother with seven children who was able to go back to school and got her master's degree. I wondered why it actually made news but just yesterday i have to revisit that article to give her - her flowers.
You must tell me your secret babe, how on earth were you able to pull that out with seven children? I have just two and I am running gaga.
A lot of women seeing how stressful it's going to be for them make the ultimate decision and sacrifice to stay home and tend to their kids. This I must say is a very brave sacrifice because it takes a very caring mother to put her life on hold for the sake of her children in order to nurture them herself instead of leaving them at the mercy of nannies and caregivers. While this works for some mothers it however does not go well with other mothers especially those who are driven with the excitement of climbing the corporate ladder or building a successful businesses for themselves.
They just look for a way to make it work. Like the picture I mentioned earlier. Instead of staying home with the excuse of nursing a baby, she showed up with her baby. Today I found myself in that kind of situation. My children will be resuming school next week and their caregiver travelled for few days. I have to show up to work today with my girls. It was not a sweet experience because I have to keep checking up on them occasionally to make sure that they were ok.
Earlier this morning, what was on my mind was to call the office and tell them that I am not working again as I have to stay at home to care for my girls but then that picture flashed on my mind.
Don't use your kids as an excuse to quit. Atleast be honest. There is always a way out. If you want to quit do that honorably.
Whether we like it a not, someday these children will grow up and leave either for school or work because they have their own life to live. In all I thank God for the gift of motherhood and I always pray for wisdom and understanding to be able to be the best mother that I can be to my kids and not lose myself in the process.
Or forget who I am in the process.
It's ok to quit, but I want to so it because i am no longer enjoying my job or because it's too tedious thereby not giving me time to also take care of other important areas in my life like my children.
Truth is family still comes first no matter what I want to achieve in life. You can be replaced at work few seconds after you quit but you can never be replaced so easily in your children's life. So the best thing to do is to find a way to make it work without leaving the homefront unattended to.
Lately I have been asking other mothers tips on how they were and are able to put it all together and they have been very helpful afterall it is said that success leaves blue print.
Because at the end of the day, they have only one mama and that is you
All pictures are mine