@balance.over.burnout: I spoke to a mum yesterday and I haven’t been able to shake what she told me. Her daughter looked for her in a crowd of parents faces at her school and was absolutely gutted when she saw her mum wasn’t there. She said she tries to be there as much as she can for her kids. The awards ceremonies. The sick days. The school trips. But sometimes she just can’t. Not because she doesn’t want to. Because she gets told at the last minute or has asked permission and is refused and there’s nothing she can do about it. And that hit me hard. Because nothing prepares you for that moment. You become a mum and your whole world shifts. Suddenly the job that used to feel fine starts to feel like it’s working against you. The flexibility you assumed you’d have doesn’t exist. The understanding you hoped for isn’t there. That’s the cost nobody talks about. Then the childcare alone is enough to make your eyes water. But the real cost, the one that creeps up on you slowly, is the cost of not starting something now. Every month you wait is a month you’re not building. Every year that passes is compounding in the complete wrong direction. I’ve been that mum too. Away for work while my girls were at home. Missing moments I will never, ever get back. So I made a decision. I learned the skills. I built income streams online. Not because it was easy but because I refused to ever be in that position again. This is my version. No employer will ever have that power over me again. And no daughter of mine will ever look for my face in a crowd and not find it. Nothing prepares you for the reality of being a working mum. But you can prepare for the alternative. You’re one decision away from never having to ask permission again. #workingmumlife #corporatemum #mumsontiktok #motherhoodunfiltered #maternity
