Real talk.
I am a career woman.
I always have been.
The writing/blogging thing... that’s just a fun passion project that’s an outlet for me.
It’s not my job.

What does that mean?
It means I work outside the home. A lot.
I work very hard to provide for our family.
I often work long hours, travel occasionally and truly put my heart and soul into what I do for a living.

I love my career and industry and have thrown myself into it for over 13 years to be the absolute best I can possibly be in my field.

I still have a lot of growth ahead of me but I’m so proud of what I have been able to accomplish thus far.

Also real talk.
I am a mom.
I have 3 beautiful, albeit a bit rambunctious sons.
Including a set of twins.

I am an IVF mom.
Which means I endured pretty much every infertility treatment imaginable for nearly 4 years to become a mom the first time.
Though that feels like a million years ago, the emotions are still there.

My boys will always come first no matter what. They always have and they always will.

Why is this relevant?
Because this work/life balance has worked for our family since 2011 when I had the twins.
I went back to work 8 weeks after they were born. It just works for us.

...Enter a global pandemic...

To be clear. My boys will never, ever question how much I love them. Our normal works for us. I make time for them. I will always make the time for them.

But they have never had me at home the amount they do right now. I’ve been a mom for just about 9 years and this is easily the most time I’ve spent at home. By far.

So yes. It gets frustrating as I’m trying to accomplish my work days from home and constantly get interrupted and asked for things. Screaming, fighting, nonstop chaos in the background.

Navigating this new, temporary, normal.

But then I stop.
And remember this is new and different for all of us. Not just me.

My 4 year old is attached to my hip because he’s never had me home like this before. He sees this as a treat, as irritable as I may be at times. This is not an inconvenience for him.

He gets to have mommy home.

My 8 year olds are asking a million questions and trying to show me their video gaming accomplishments that I have no interest in because they’ve never gotten to do that before. This is not upsetting to them.

They get to have mommy home.

I’m trying to be 5 people at once and accomplish everything that needs to get done. That’s hard for me. I prefer to tackle one task at a time. It’s how I’m wired.

But when I shift my perspective and remember that these little boys are working through their new normal too... it completely changes my mindset.

They get to have mommy home.

I’m a working mom.
I always will be.
And these are days that may never happen again.

Embrace the change.
Try hard not to let it frustrate you.
Change is hard.
But change can make you better.

If you’re a working mom, I encourage you to look through the eyes of your children.

As much of an inconvenience as this may feel like... try to remember... it’s an inconvenience for you.

But to your kids:
They get to have mommy home.

Love & Hugs,

Nicki, Momming all the Boys