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It’s been a while since I posted. Of course, I could say that life has been busy and use that as my excuse, but honestly, who doesn’t feel that way? I have so many thoughts but keeping up a regular blog began to feel like a member of my longer than life to-do list so I just stopped. I want what I write to just flow and today I was inspired by something that happened at work to write for you. Let’s catch up a little.

The White House for Working Families

In April, I had an amazing opportunity to go to the White House forĀ The White House Council on Women and Girls and Champions of Change Program toĀ honor 12 people who have made a difference for Working Families.

I was part of a small group of about 30 people who were invited for the occasion to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building South Court Auditorium.Ā The night before I received an email that President Obama would be giving a 20-minute speech and afterward I was 1 of 5 people invited to meet with Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President in the West Wing!

My trip to the White House for Champions of Change for Working Families

President Obama spoke to us about changes that need to be made for paid sick leave, equal pay, affordable daycare options and pregnancy accommodationsā€”all of these topics aligned with the accomplishments of the Champions of Change we were honoring.Ā Afterwards, I was escorted to the West Wing to sit down with Valerie Jarrett to give personal feedback on my own experiences as a working mom.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have someone that high up in our government listen to an ordinary working mom tell her story about how the lack of family-friendly policies in this country impacts all of usā€”I particularly focused on no national paid maternity leave, the high cost of daycare and the amount of time so few of us are actually protected under FMLA to be away from work forĀ our families.

My trip to the White House for Champion of Change for Working Families
My sister and I before President Obama came out to speak

It was an unbelievably cool experience that I feel so fortunate to have had.

My Daughter

Lydia is almost 3! I started this blog exactly 2 years ago when I was desperately looking for someone to tell me the magic formula for being a working mom. I was stressed, exhausted and feeling like I was failing in every area: wife, mother, worker, homemaker, etc…

Fast forward to today and I am doing much better. I’m not saying this working mom gig isn’t hard and sometimes just downright sad, but I’ve learned to prioritize better and figure out what really matters. My “thing” is seeing Lydia every night. When I have to travel for work I will leave on 6 a.m. flights before flying out a night earlier so that I have one less night away from her. Most people I work with think I am crazy for this… truthfully, it is a lot more stress on me but it also keeps my mom guilt in check. I’m also a big fan of taking days off of work just to spend doing fun things with her (either with or without my husband). If I have to take a long work trip, then I always make sure to take a day off of work right after to have some much-needed quality time with her.

It’s not perfect, but it’s been working!

Working Mom to a 3 year old

Work/Life Balance

Today I receivedĀ a blow to my work/life balance. When Lydia was around 6 months, I negotiated working from home 2 days a week. There are so many benefits in my particular circumstance to this. The biggest benefit is travel time. We spend a ridiculous amount of time in the car commuting. Working from home “bought” me time back with Lydia. There are a host of other reasons such as: exercise on lunch, two less days to pack lunches for, two less days to get dressed up for and saving prep time in the morning.

A year ago I switched departments and found a path in my career that I sincerely love, but today I was told they are cracking down on remote days. I now only get 1 day a week and four weeks out of the year are not eligible at all.

On one hand, I feel like a brat for complaining at all since I know how lucky I am to have any flexibility. On the other hand, I’ve put 10 years into my career and worked my butt off to get here, this is what made it work for me as a mom.

I’m not mad or angry, I’m just sad. I’m trying very hard to look on the bright side and hope I will adjust and it won’t be a huge issue. I am a good employee and I truly feel like they are taking something away from me that might not matter that much to some but really matters to me. This just proves to me that women (and men) need to continue to lobby for family-friendly workplace policies.

This announcement has made me want to get back into my blogging groove about working mom issues. Hopefully I will have many more updates to come in the near future!

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7 Comments

  1. That is a blow! Sorry. Did they give you a good reason as to why they needed to pull you back in one more day a week? I know working from home has to work for the business as well – and not compromise productivity – but wondering what prompted the change. Good luck with the adjustment. I’m going through a lot of change as well since I started a new job. I used to have a very long leash, and now I need to prove myself all over again. Sigh. No more working from home for me in the near future. šŸ™

  2. I’ve found an unfortunate pattern where less-skilled managers want to see everyone in the office to ensure they are working, rather than having the skills to oversee the actual work product (not just check that yep, someone was at the desk). It sounds like this is a broader policy change, not just your direct manager. I would encourage you to reach out to your manager and/or HR (depending on your organization and the personalities involved) and ask for more explanation about why the change is being made. Did people feel the team wasn’t as cohesive? Were some people abusing the freedom? Is there a big project due and they are calling “all hands on deck”. By pushing to understand the specific concerns, you may be able to counter them. And depending on the organization (and how good your boss is), you might still be able to get the work from home time if you can minimize the concerns. Good luck!

  3. White House! What an honor and what a special opportunity to be able to share your experience as a mom with Valerie Jarrett.