Successful career & devoted mother. Can you really have it all?

I used to joke with my boss in the old days called him a breeder – this was before I fell pregnant myself and started on the road to parenting. I did understand that he had other responsibilities but did not really understand the effect children had in your life.

For one when your child is ill – you rush out and go home, especially when you are a mother. It sound like a teddy bear picnic,not so and so has gone home her child is ill. No thought is given to the guilt that first of all rages within every mother; would my child have befallen this ailment if I was there? The stress; how long will my boss be understanding that there is no other option than to rush out. The financial burden, when you have used up all your family responsibility leave, your annual leave, your sick leave and then start doing unpaid leave. Yes you made a decision to be a parent, yes you knew there was going to be more responsibility but you never bargained on this.

Secondly you miss your child – children are amazing human beings and you want to spend time with them. Most parents get to spend about an hour daily with their children. So it seems to be wrong when you are frowned upon because you rush out the door as soon as your normal workday is done. It is not understood that the hour you will be spending in traffic is going to skim the seconds of the time you have to tickle and play, love and adore your child. The time to sit down to a family dinner, bath time and bed time. The time you have to make a lasting impression and play a part in the development of your child's character.

You get to work from home – yes you get to work at all hours of the day, so you can spend time with you child yet sit at two in the morning to do the work that other people do during normal hours. You do not complain because you were there when most needed, you were able to make a difference in your child's life. There are no breaks even if you have lost any ambition of becoming the MD of the company you still need to do work to retain your job. In some instances it is also unfair as even if you do your job better that before you will still be reminded of the time off, the "special" breaks you got because you are a mother.

All and all parenthood is a life changing event. People deal with it differently, but ultimately it does not leave you untouched. Even the people around you who don't have children is effected, one of your challenges is to minimise the negative influences that your being a parent have on all involved.

Yes you will adapt to your new role, yes you will find out that your child is more resilient than you thought. You will most probable settle back into a routine of being a parent and a corporate Mogul. Yet you are not alone and there are other people who have similar experiences to yours.