When I went back to college for a second degree, attending night school and sacrificing weekends was easy. Our girls were very young and would not notice or so we hope that mom was not there some nights to put them to sleep and the morning part of the weekends.

Moving forward a few years graduated and now working the night shift to make sure one parent is home for school drop off and pick up.

I leave our home early evenings returning from work long after they have left for school. Sleep on a good day consist of 4 hours, pick them up, spend a few moments at the park, go over their day, make dinner and ready for work. Though, it may seem great on paper that I work 3 days a week and one 4-day week; there’s still the factor of the first day off zombie affect. There’s the missed family events, birthdays, holidays and most of all those mornings gone trying to sleep, but wanting to spend the day with family.

I want to show our girls that women can be educated, independent and have a well-balanced family/home. Is that overreaching?

When do we stop compensating for our parents missed events in our lives? When does the mom guilt die? When can a mom be successful without regrets? Can a mom achieve both motherhood and career goals without sacrificing time in either place? I’m not sure there is a correct answer or perfect solution to these questions, but the one thing we are sure of is that our girls know their parents love them beyond words, work very hard, and try to make it look effortlessly.