Working Motherhood

Ambition didn’t disappear when I became a mother — it just got more complicated.

Essays on invisible labor, mental load, and building a career that fits a real life.

  • Moms, You Are Allowed To Have First-World Problems

    Mama, I know you have a lot on your plate. You’re juggling the demands of parenting, work, household chores, and personal care. You have to deal with tantrums, spills, messes, and meltdowns. You have to make decisions, solve problems, and plan ahead. You have to cope with stress, fatigue, and guilt. You feel every flake of the growing snowball of burnout. Sometimes (let’s face it, LOTS of times), you might feel overwhelmed by the challenges of motherhood and all that comes with it. You might wish for things to be easier, simpler, or different. You might complain about your lack…

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  • Coming Clean About My Double Life – As a Working Mom

    When I started a new job a few years back, I debated when, or if, I would mention to my colleagues that I had an infant at home. After all, I would be working remotely, with a team spread all over the country. I could hide in my home office (coincidentally, just off my son’s nursery), do my job, and everything would be fine. Sure, there were other parents on my team, but I certainly wouldn’t want them to see me, an all-business engineering type, with an infant on her hip, hair in a messy bun, and a cold coffee…

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  • Our Family Camping (and Working) Trip

    Many years ago, before we were parents, my husband and I dreamed of being able to work remotely from wherever we wanted. We imagined road trips where we could work from the beach, the ski slopes, and everywhere in between — so long as we had an internet connection and cell phone service. Since we both grew up camping, we imagined a life on the open road, living and working out of our camping trailer. We’re not planning on adopting this lifestyle anytime soon, especially now that we have an 18-month-old son, but we did give ourselves a taste of…

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