Built for Humans, Not Perfection: Redefining “Having It All” as a Working Mom
We’ve all heard how women today can have it all. A successful career, a happy family, a spotless home, and time to make it to yoga before dinner. Not to shatter dreams here, but in reality, “having it all” usually just means constantly choosing what matters most in each moment.
Some days, you absolutely crush a client pitch. Other days, you’re wiping peanut butter off your laptop during a Zoom call.
It’s not about perfection; it’s about presence. Learning to be okay with the fact that your version of “all” might look beautifully (and hilariously) different hour to hour, day to day.
The magic of having it all isn’t in some perfectly balanced formula; it’s in having the right environment and the right support to make those choices for yourself when you need to. It’s about working somewhere that actually gets the chaos — the sticky fingers, the random illnesses you thought weren’t even a thing anymore, the daycare drop-offs, the mid-meeting emergencies — all of it.
I feel incredibly fortunate to work somewhere that understands we’re all just people. We don’t make the perfect decision all the time, but we try, we fail, we learn, and we give each other the space to do exactly that. That empathy is the reason I can show up fully every single day. I can bring my whole self because others do too, and they get it.
What does that mean in practice? It means real flexibility and real grace. It means knowing I am an adult, working with other adults, who are trusted to make decisions about when and how they work to get the best results every day.
I can drop my son off at daycare at a reasonable time, and pick him up if he’s sick. I can take a client call with Blippi on in the background, and know my client also gets it and understands. I can be on a kickoff call with a client and her newborn, because we’ve all been there. I have given presentations with a toddler in my lap, been on a client call while they are breastfeeding, even had my baby handed to me in a meeting by my mother who was covered in poop (no idea how she did that while he was clean, but that’s a mystery for another day).
All of that can happen, and the day can still be productive. Deliverables can still exceed expectations, not in spite of flexibility, but because of it. Being a mom doesn’t take away from being my professional self; it makes me sharper, more empathetic, and more efficient than ever.
Because of this balance, and permission to be a full human, I’ve also found the ability to lean into what I need personally from day to day. Whether it’s being a parent or being a leader in an organization, there is no manual (or at least no good one) for what to do in every situation. Some days I feel like I totally whiffed on a meeting, and I know I have my family to lean on and ground me. Other days, I feel like I’ll never figure out how to potty train my toddler, but I know I can crush a client deliverable and feel great.
The give and take, the balance, and the grace of knowing I’m good at something each day truly helps me be myself and tackle whatever comes as it comes. I’m far from perfect, and having permission to be multi-faceted allows me to feel more grounded, confident, and capable. And that applies anywhere from getting my kid to eat veggies to leading a growth strategy for a large corporation.
Working with people who are refreshingly honest and true to themselves has been one of the best things for both my quality of work and my overall well-being. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate my team, coworkers, and clients who don’t think twice about how we show up for each other. We’ve built a community that trusts and supports one another and wants each person to grow.
It can be jarring to new employees and partners, but working with, or at, KPS3 isn’t just about the work. It’s about having people to rely on. To be in the trenches with. To grow with. To solve problems with.
The fact that I get to be all the things — a leader, a mom, a messy human — is exactly why I show up, stay here, and thrive.
I’ve learned that at the end of the day, “having it all” isn’t about doing it all.
It’s about being somewhere that lets you be all of you.