The Okay-Est Will Do

There was a time when I hand-made the Valentine’s cards.
I’m talking custom wrappers. Themed boxes. One year, I hand-drew every single Star Wars character because that’s what my boys loved.

Yesterday, my youngest daughter called me while I was on a work trip. She was bursting with excitement about her upcoming Valentine’s Day party.

Well, darn.
I hadn’t bought the cards. Didn’t have the treats.
I didn’t even know what day the party was.

There’s a version of leadership we don’t talk about enough. The one where you’re leading teams, making high-stakes decisions, carrying vision for an organization … and still trying to remember spirit week.

As leaders, we are often operating at full capacity. Strategy meetings. Travel. Responsibility that doesn’t neatly end.

Parenting doesn’t either.

There is no such thing as “work-life balance.”
It’s not a scale you perfectly calibrate.
It’s an intersection. A collision most times.
Two worlds constantly crossing and having to decide where your presence is most needed in that moment.

And sometimes the okay-est will do.

Leadership has taught me how to prioritize.
Motherhood has taught me how to humanize it.

And both have taught me: perfection is unsustainable.

Cheers to finding your vulnerability and okay-est moments.