I have been a mother for the last 8 years. I gave up my career to be a full time mother to my children. Motherhood has been a very pleasant experience with its share of vicissitudes. Yes, there were times when my children would throw tantrums when I wanted to run away and run away. There were times when I wanted to sleep but had to stay up putting a cranky baby to bed. There were also times when just a hearty laugh, a smile, or the smell of my baby’s skin could melt my heart and lift my spirits. A roller coaster of emotions, I suppose, is part of normal motherhood.
Keeping up the daily grind of being a mom, the one question that was always on my mind, “what about my career?” A well-educated MBA, it always tugged at my heartstrings that the years, which I could devote to building my career, were flying by taking care of children. It pained me to watch batch mates and colleagues climb corporate ladders while I was a mom.
The pragmatist in me knows how important it was for me to be home, for a parent to always be around and available for the children. However, that little thought gnawed at the back of my mind that I was wasting my education. The successful career he had followed before seemed like a distant dream now. But that haunting thought never went away.
So what was the way out? What did I do? I worked around the circumstances. I have always had a knack for writing. So, I started blogging as a hobby. And little by little he turned it into a freelance writing career. It was not easy; it still isn’t. And juggling career and motherhood will never be easy. But, I’m getting there. I am happy that it is satisfactory; and I’m doing my thing.
That point about wasting my education: I realized that education is never wasted. Education has made me the logical and analytical person with the skills I have today.
So, all the moms out there who have taken time off from their regular job to raise their kids, congratulations to you! Remember, there can only be one mother for your children: you! You have made the right decision. There is a career option waiting for you to follow it in your spare time or from home. All you have to do is find it, when you feel you are ready for it.
In the meantime, enjoy motherhood; The race can wait!
