Life Lately: Can you survive as a working mom during Corona?
Can you survive as a working mom during corona? Should I just quit my job? These are two questions that were on repeat in my brain last week.For a few reasons, the heaviness of corona hit me this last week. Most of the time, my posts are upbeat. And it's not that this post is not positive, but it's real. If we're being real today, we can't be positive day in and day out. The reality is we're living in a pandemic during an election year and the world feels like it's off its axis.
Is childcare always messy as a working mom?
When all of this started, we thought it'd be 3 months of a mess. Am I right? Let's get to June and this will just be a distant memory. Oh, the good old days...If we rewind for a minute, childcare has always been messy for us - mainly because of me. I decided to take my business full-time at the same time I had Emmie. [Hindsight is 20/20, right? Space out big milestones, ha!]. We've actually changed something about our childcare situation every 4 months... we started with 6 months of maternity/paternity leave. First, we had a nanny for 3 months. Then, only 4 months in the infant room in daycare. From there, it was 3 months in the toddler room at daycare. Then, BOOM. Pandemic.The beginning of the pandemic was hard. I was so frustrated because it felt like we'd finally hit our groove. But, we did what all parents did. We figured it out. Matt and I traded off scheduling the days in advance. I took some calls with Emmie. Fast forward 5 months, and I'm exhausted. We've had a babysitter who's been wonderful two days a week, but this isn't humanly possible. Trying to run a new business, my own business, be a mom, a chef, a janitor, an educator... it's too much to ask people.
Last week nearly broke me
Searching for a nanny was hard for us. We put together a solid list of questions. Overall, finding someone you trust with your child and in your home during a pandemic is a tall order. After spending time searching for people, it felt like we wouldn't find someone who could fit our needs.It was the first time during the pandemic that I felt truly defeated. I said to Matt, "I think I just need to quit my job and be a stay at home mom until this passes." Now I get it. Sometimes it's just too hard to do it all and you have to opt-out.
We're turning a corner, and I'm a hopeful working mom during corona
We found someone - thank goodness. It seems like we're headed towards another stretch of routine to at least carry us through the end of the year, and I couldn't be more grateful. Projects have been ramping up personally and for The Marketing Greenhouse, so this couldn't come at a better time. If you're a business owner, you've most likely pivoted and Q4 is a must-win. So with that...
If you're feeling stuck, try this.
It's hard not to feel stuck right now. If you do, it's OK. I'm right there with you. You can fix it though. Take time for you (whenever you can and even if it's only 10 minutes).I'm also hosting donation-based advising once a month, which feels like a win-win. Giving back puts things in perspective and helps to keep me grounded. Plus, for clients figuring out a plan with advice from a third party during this tough time, it might be just what they need! What is it? It's a 1-hour session with up to 10 people. No charge, just a donation of $25 or more towards a charity. Interested? Check out the next date here. Stick with it. We're all in this together, right?