With a little over a week left of my maternity leave, I’m rather excited to start back at work. It will be great to fill my head with other thoughts, to feel productive, and to use my brain again. I’ve missed working a lot, but it will be different to be a working mom. I’m incredibly lucky to already work from home, and I have awesome colleagues who will understand if I have to pause for a bit to take care of a crying baby.

Yes, I there are a lot of benefits to my job, and being able to work flexible hours without wearing heels is definitely a big one. However, I will still have to do tons of work, which I’m happy about. That work includes meetings, and I had originally thought that I would have to organize childcare for Harley for those times. Now, I’ve decided to take her along, and I’m not going to apologize or feel bad about it.

I’m definitely inspired by Licia Ronzulli, an Italian Member of European Parliament who decided to bring her daughter to work with her to highlight what working mothers go through. I love these images of them together.

It got me thinking about my job. Yes, I have to meet with people, but they can know I’m a mom. I can still talk to them, discuss important business and make a positive impression with a baby along for the ride. She can chill in her car seat, or sleep on me in her sling, and it won’t detract from my ability to do my job. I originally thought that I would just apologize to whomever I was meeting with, to say I’m sorry but I had to bring Harley along. Then I realized, I’m not sorry – I want to bring Harley along so that I don’t have to leave her somewhere. I won’t feel bad about wanting to do both, and I won’t apologize for being more than one thing.

I will not apologize for being a working mom. I’m going to embrace it.

Towards that end, I did an experiment last night. I brought Harley with me for a trustees meeting (yes, I’m one of those idiots who joined my complex’s trustee board). She had her injections yesterday and was extra clingy in the evening. So I strapped her on with her sling, where she happily fell asleep against me. The meeting went well, everyone cooed over her and then we got down to business. At some point, she started to fuss a bit, so I simply stood up and bounced her while continuing to discuss the matters that needed discussion. No one was upset with me bringing her, and the meeting went on as intended.

One of my goals for raising Harley is to teach her that women can do anything, can be anything they want. If she wants to be a business woman, or a politician, or an actress or an astronaut, that doesn’t have to get in her way if she also decides she wants to be a mom one day. What better way to teach her that than to learn it for myself as well. I can do anything and everything I want, and I don’t need to feel bad about it. I’m just not sorry; I’m a proud and happy working mom.

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