Grace Over Guilt

𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 “𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.” 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

That’s the intersection I’ve lived at for over two decades - leading professionally while parenting five kids (now ages 14 to 26).

It’s not a balancing act.
It’s a constant juggle.

And while the percentage of working women has nearly doubled since 1950, the household and emotional load hasn’t kept pace. In fact, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵 highlighted how 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 - emotionally, academically, and professionally.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭?

Yesterday, another mother in the industry shared her guilt over missing moments at home when travelling for work. I’ve felt that too.

Here’s what experience (and a few hard lessons) have taught me.
✅ There is no superhero moment - you cannot do everything for everyone. Define roles and expectations early.
✅ Pick your priorities. I wasn’t the mom at every class party. I was the Valentine’s Day party mom, not the fall festival one.
✅ Protect your energy and focus. You don’t need to be everywhere to be effective.
✅ That includes work. Your presence at every industry conference isn’t required. That’s why strong teams exist; so, divide and conquer.
✅ Keep a running list at home knowing who’s handling what; this reduces chaos and resentment. Then reevaluate as seasons change.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥. It’s about knowing what matters most, being present where it counts, and giving yourself the same grace you extend to others.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘮. 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘻 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵.