Dear Working Mom,
Who told you being ambitious made you less a good mom? Whether you heard it from a well-meaning friend or family member, or implicitly understood it from society’s not-so-silent silent messaging, you’ve consciously, or unconsciously, tried to contort yourself to adapt to it. So you’ve kept your ambition a secret, masking the hunger of your Purpose behind futile attempts at being accepted and fitting in with the others, the seemingly “good moms”…
So you changed your conversation to conform to the latest trend in disposable diapers and juiciest town gossip…
So you refrained from discussing your latest business venture, your crazy entrepreneurial ambitions, even your latest ideas, for fear of being cast away for sounding like a brag…
So you learnt to put up with the ridiculous disdain you felt at being perceived like a shallow, ambitious working mom who favors books rather pie baking…
Directly or indirectly, you’ve been spending so much of your time apologizing for being exactly who you are, doubting your own instincts, second-guessing your decisions, hiding from yourself and others…
Yet, all along, your daughter has been looking at you as a hero, as this superwoman going after her dreams…
All along, your son has been learning through your example that girls are brave, girls can go to work, girls can build companies and write words that change the world, and still kiss you on the forehead at night and make up fun, mismatched stories of African princesses and princes hiding in closets…
All along, your very difference has been inspiring others to honor their own difference, to live the lives they were made to live, and make the choices that only belong to them…
All along, you’ve been apologizing for the very thing that makes you you, that makes you unique, that makes you the force of nature you are…
All along, you’ve been feeling guilty for your dreams, but dear mama, your dreams never invalidated anyone’s, they were free to be yours all along…
Dear Working Mama,
If you’re reading this, folding laundry as you’re coming up with your next big business idea, your next crazy venture, I hope you keep being exactly who you were made to be. I hope you ditch the guilt, the disdain from those who gave up on their own dreams and want you to do the same, the hurt of rejection, and all the obstacles standing in your way…
I hope you keep going, you keep pushing, and you keep achieving your purpose….
And I hope you take your kids along the way, and teach them it’s ok to go after thir dreams…
And I hope you take other women with you, and whisper in their ears it’s ok to accomplish your purpose, whether it’s being a stay-at-home mom or closing deal…
But most of all, I hope you stop apologizing for being a daring, earth-shattering, brave mama…
The Corporate Sis.
