For the past 8 months, I’ve been adjusting to ‘just being a mom,’ a.k.a., I’ve taken a break from my career and am navigating what this means for me, my life, my happiness…it’s particularly interesting given the following things:
- I showed up in NYC at 24 convinced that I needed no more than 5 years to work hard/play hard, have my piece of SATC (specifically, Carrie’s shoes, bags, clothes, cosmo’s and (Mr.) big romance, at which point I would leave satisfied and move on to marriage, kids, the ‘burbs etc. (DID NOT HAPPEN)
- I’ve always judged myself and based my self-worth on my accomplishments, and when I say this I mean things done in an office environment (HOW INCONVENIENT)
- I went to private schools and was raised thinking that I could do anything a guy did, i.e., we were the same despite the obvious physical differences (SOOO NOT TRUE)
- Because of said thinking, I secretly judged women who stopped working when they had children or aspired to be a mom instead of wanting to climb the corporate ladder and compete with men…(NO COMMENT)
Which leaves me 13 years, 6 apartments, 5 jobs, 3 neighborhoods, 2 kids, 1 husband and 1 mini-schnauzer later, wondering how I ended up here — raising a family in a city that I always thought was ‘the craziest place’ to do so and even more shockingly, that I’ve (temporarily) tapped out of the professional rat race.
This is my journey, and I hope by sharing it to touch and inspire others, but most importantly as a reminder that you are not alone, and not the only one struggling at times to make sense of it all.
XO, MP
Badass Mom 