I had a meeting last week. It was an important one. I was so excited about this particular conference call that I tried to schedule it at a time where my toddlers, Nattie and Zoe, would be taking their naps. If you’re a mom of toddlers, you know how important nap times are!
Unfortunately for me, the participant had to reschedule the time because she would be traveling. She asked for a later time, and we made it happen.
The challenge I ran into was the fact that they would be just waking up from their naps at the new time, and I had to change diapers, feed them and get in the carpool lane to get two more kiddos from school.
Because this was also a training exercise for me, I couldn’t quite say no. So, I said yes to the new time and went with it.
The meeting went well, however, it was time for me to get the littles from naps and transition them to the car, when I smelled a horrible smell from one of them— Nattie. You guessed it. She pooped. And it was bad!
I had to mute the call, get off of video, grab everything needed to change Nattie and grab something for her to eat before we all got in my truck.
Writing it out sounds simple, but let me tell you something. It was a nightmare. I’m so glad I wasn’t leading the meeting.
I did everything as fast as I could— being 8 months pregnant— and hurried to the car to get in line. I was late, but I made it.
This is an example of what the Mompreneur / business life looks like sometimes. One moment, you’re on an amazing conference call, and the next you are racing through the house to change diapers.
I used to hope for balance— that perfect dance, juggling everything simultaneously as if I’m a part of a circus. Quite honestly, in all of the years that I have worked from home with little kids, I could not find it. So, this is what I decided to do:
1. Accept the non-perfect mess. Kids are messy. Parenting is messy. It doesn’t matter how many times you set rules and write goals, you’ll have interruptions. Just accept it, and take care of what needs to be done.
2. Accept unpredictability. Kids are unpredictable. There’s no way we can know exactly how each day will go when we’re working from home. By all means, write goals and work toward them, but accept the fact that how you reach those goals may differ each day.
3. Give yourself grace. This will always be one of my talking points. It’s so normal to feel like you’re not working hard enough or like you’re not being as productive as you’d like. Mom, you are doing the best you can. Take a deep breath, and handle each task one at a time. Continue to feel confident, and know that you can do this!
Mom and Business Mag 