Working Full-Time While Managing Parenthood

by Melissa Droege, Oakwood Wealth Partners,?New Business Assistant

?I love being a mother, but it isn’t news that parenthood is hard work. ?Especially as a working mom, it can be challenging to juggle between being good at your job and being a good parent. ?I have two daughters, or two rascals depending on the day.?Anniston is six, and Allison will be four this May.?You know, I give them credit, because they’ve helped me learn a lot about myself and how much I can really handle.??I consider myself fortunate, because I am part of a great parenting team at home and a wonderful team at work.??Through all the stress and exhaustion, parenthood and my job have given me the most rewarding experiences.

The cool thing about becoming a parent is that you gain this strength that you never knew you had.?For example, I can hold more than ten things in one hand.?I’m serious, I can... here, give me your stuff. ????Okay to be serious, as much of a struggle as it is, my husband and I can get the girls out the door and off to school, and still make it on time for work.?Please don’t mind the sweat dripping down our faces.?Not every day is perfect, but it’s achievable. We are learning how to manage our time better as a family every day. I also can take care of a sick child (they call me nurse-mom at the house), and I never imagined I could take care of anyone but myself. ?I sometimes must remind myself to breathe. Especially when I’m at the office and I see the school calling across my cell phone.?Thank goodness for icepacks, that’s all I have to say here!

One of the perks of my position at Oakwood Wealth Partners, is that I get to plan team events. I know how important it is for me to be present and come up with new ideas for our team. As a team coordinator, I’ve had to participate more, and most of these events are afterhours. ?This is where my parenting “team” comes into play.??I can rely on my husband to do the pickups from school for the girls. When we plan ahead, which I highly recommend, we work well together. ?I do a lot of organizing for these events so being there is important for me and the team. Plus, it gives me the chance to do something that’s fulfilling for myself and really helps build our team camaraderie.

Yes, I enjoy being the team “fun event” coordinator at work, and likewise I’m using transferable skills to be a “fun event” coordinator at home.??I’m very fortunate that my husband and I have each other’s support with the girls.?As I said, we make a good team. But when he goes on a business trip, it’s just Mom for three days.??Being by myself with the girls after work isn’t easy, so my boss gave me an idea to make things more fun. The idea was to have a picnic night! So, the first night that my husband is gone, we will have a picnic in the house.??I tell the girls to get the big blanket for the floor and we order take out.?The girls love the fact that we get to eat on the floor instead of eating at the table.?They look forward to it every time.?This was a benefit of working outside the home that I didn’t realize I would get…having other parents on the team to give great advice like that.??Family is extremely important on our team, and everyone does their best to be supportive.

I believe it truly takes a village to raise a family. ?I’m glad I have my husband’s help to remember to sign these girls up for sports and school.?He remembers to sign all the school applications, gets them into sports, and even opened college savings accounts for them.?They were babies when he opened the college accounts.?I didn’t even think of that because I was too busy checking to see if they were still breathing while they were asleep. ?Since working for Oakwood team of advisors, I now know the importance of a college savings account for my girls. ?I’m looking forward to seeing the girls go to college because they are already very smart.?My husband is the reason my three-year-old can already use the word “actually”.?He reads to Anniston every night. We try to get Allison to read too, but she is “actually” too busy with her toys and imagination.?Yes, being a mother is a lot of work, and a father’s job isn’t any easier, but together, as a team, we can share the tasks, the planning, and the joy, just like at work.

Obviously, it’s very important to take care of the kids’ needs but taking care of myself is just as important.?I read about self-care and yes, I partake, but it doesn’t take the twenty things off my list of things to do today. ??I think that self-care should not just be warm baths, a face mask, and getting your nails done.?Self-care is really about taking care of your mental health.?This is crucial to me as a mom and as an employee because I can get overwhelmed with work to-dos and parenthood combined. ?As a parent, I criticize myself and sometimes think I’m not doing enough for my kids.?As an employee, I can get overwhelmed, and I want to stay focused on my job and keeping our clients happy. ?So, when it comes to self-care, I make it a priority. ?This is the self-care that helps me: talking to other moms for support; like coworkers who are also moms, reading a good book, listening to music, going on walks, ?and I just started journaling as well.?

I know as a working parent I have a lot on my plate. Like making sure my kids have brushed their teeth, meeting that deadline on a task at work, making sure my kids are dressing warm for cold weather, or coming up with exciting new ideas for our work team events. ?The list goes on and on and yes, I lose sleep over it, at times. ?Being a working parent is hard, but we are stronger than we even realize. ??

With that being said, I want to wish all the parents out there with babies, toddlers, littles rascals, teenagers, or adults to have a Happy Mother’s Day & upcoming Father’s Day or Happy Parent’s Month, because we all deserve it!

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