How many kids do you have?
I have three girls – Everleigh is 10, Piper is 8 and Quinn is 6.
How far had you gotten in your career when you started having kids?
I had roughly 10 years of my career under my belt when I had my first daughter, Everleigh. At that time, I was working in house at Whole Foods Market. I had risen through the ranks at Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris prior and always felt that working at an agency would be inconducive to raising a family (at least for me), so I was glad to be somewhere like Whole Foods Market that applauded working moms.
I decided to go back to agency life as a vice president right before my second daughter, Piper, was born. Unfortunately, the timing was terrible. I was only there for 6 months before she was born so the onboarding was cut super short due to my maternity leave. Upon my return, I was expected to have an immense amount of the skills that were never properly taught to me —overhead leadership items like budget management and tracking other’s time, in particular. I was just never able to figure it out and my work suffered for it.
What made you take a break from working?
It just got to be too much. I was overwhelmed all the time. I was working before I went to the office, clocking out at 5 p.m. to get the girls home and fed and getting back online once they were in bed. It was exhausting and I wasn’t performing to the level I always strove for. Then we decided to move our family to the suburbs and have a third child. It was the right time to focus on my family.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced being a working mom?
Someone once summed it up for me perfectly: when you’re at work, you worry about your kids; when you’re at home, you worry about work. Truthfully, I was always relieved to go back to work. I’ve always loved working and have never really enjoyed running my house. I HATE laundry. But I never really got the balance right as a working mom in the corporate setting. So much of my identity was tied to my work. But truthfully, my kids needed me.
Ironically, one of my responsibilities at WFM was to hire people in our Canadian stores – this included covering maternity leave for new moms. Mind you, maternity leave in Canada is an entire year. I was always so jealous of the length of time Canadian moms were awarded. When women go back to work after having a child in America, the poor baby isn’t even interesting yet! So many milestones are missed.
What prompted your decision to re-start your career, and how has it changed?
My husband has always said that he never envisioned me NOT going back to work, and he’s right. I’ve always been a worker bee – I held three jobs all through college just to graduate. I also took all my last-semester college courses online because I wanted to get into the workplace more quickly.
At first, it was just one job at a time, culling through old contacts and job-for-hire websites. But then luck/the universe came into play and I met my writing partner, Brooke.
How does partnering in a marketing business differ from corporate life?
For me, it’s the good life. I am able to balance what my girls need with what my clients need. I am given permission to help my girls lead a very rich life and show them that a fulfilling career as a woman — and mother — is attainable.
What are you most proud of?
I’m really proud that I walked away from the parts of my career that didn’t make me happy (and that I wasn’t particularly good at) to hone in my writing, which is something that I’ve always done well and truly enjoy. I’ve always sought a career that I can control (that doesn’t control me) and I am so happy to have found it.
What advice would you give to women who are trying to balance parenting and work?
Don’t give up, outsource where needed and find a good therapist. For me, that means hiring someone to help with laundry, ordering meal delivery kits and ensuring my kids have tons of activities to keep them busy. Therapy has helped me tremendously in asking for what I need, finding what makes me happy and better navigating work/life balance.
Another piece of advice is that it’s never too late to go back. It seems increasingly apparent to me that the good companies of the world won’t even blink an eye if a woman took a few years off to raise their family — times have changed. If you’re in a field where your previous skillset might need updating, take a class to make it happen (tech is a great example). Don’t give up on something that brings you joy and makes you feel proud of yourself. Becoming a mom can mean losing a big part of your identity. Take it back.
What’s the Most Surprising Reward of Going Back to Work?
Quite honestly, I’m really surprised at not only how supportive my husband has been, but also how proud of me my girls are! They love hearing about what I’m working on and even helping if/when it makes sense. My oldest, Everleigh, loves to help me edit.
What advice would you give your daughters?
To work doing something they love and are good at — and to be self-sufficient. The adage that a woman should run the household is antiquated and stupid. Don’t fall into that trap.