My blog is about balancing career and motherhood. There are days when I feel I have it all down pat. However, the tides have recently turned. Being sick has opened up my eyes to what I’ve been missing. Now I’m torn between my daughter and the job I love so much.
Children were in our plans from day one. My hubby and I wanted to wait until we were both established in our careers before we decided to try conceiving. Plus, we wanted to be financially ready. Now that we have our little Princess, life couldn’t be better. The plan was to have her in daycare during the day, while we went to work. The only problem is that I never get to see her during the week. I basically spend less than two hours each day during the week. Weekends are out time to spend as a family. But, I also have to squeeze in study time on Saturday and Sunday. That’s pretty sad!
I guess it didn’t seem so bad considering that she’d wait up for me every night. But Princess is beginning to sleep through the night. I know I should be ecstatic at the thought of getting more sleep. But for me, it’s bitter sweet. On the one hand, we get more shuteye. On the other hand, I see her less. Now I really understand why some moms quit their jobs to stay home with their kids. I never thought I’d ever give quitting my gig a second thought. Don’t get it twisted, I have no thoughts of resigning. I’ve just been struggling with being away from my daughter.
As she gets older, I know it will get tougher. I speak to mothers in my industry all the time and ask them how they manage. Most tell me it’s tough. Some eventually quit their jobs in TV all together. I remember speaking to one anchor in particular about being a career mom before having Princess. I attended a convention and met an anchor for a national cable station.
She’s a mom of a pretty big family and made the decision to hire a nanny. When I asked her if she had a difficult time leaving her kids, she said no. She went on to tell me that she went back to work after a couple of weeks of having each child. “All they do is sleep and eat anyway. They won’t remember anything” she said. This arrangement was conducive for her family and career, but I knew it wasn’t the way I wanted to parent. I’ve always wanted to be a hands on parent. Some sacrifices were to be expected. But, jeez louise.
