"It does feel really good to know that your kids miss you and want to spend time with you," she said.
When Priya Amin received a drawing from her seven-year-old son, her initial reaction was to tell him, "Oh, such a beautiful drawing!" But when she looked at it carefully, she realized the drawing said way more than she thought it did. "I actually looked at it, and it broke my heart," she said. "Well, it sort of warmed and broke my heart at the same time," Amin told GMA. In the picture, a child is asking his mother, "Mommy, are you done?", she replies, "No". She later wrote about this on LinkedIn.
If this doesn’t sum up the guilt of parenting x working from home I don’t know what does 😭😭😭#mommyareyoudone pic.twitter.com/gcwatIsFAW
— Priya Amin (@praman79) December 11, 2020
"All I wanted to do was close up my laptop and spend time with my kids, but I knew that if I didn't get a few important things done, I wouldn't be able to get my mind off of them," Amin said. "I think so many parents feel that way, especially during the pandemic, where work and life have collided with one another and it's really hard to step away from work. My son's drawing was a stark reminder to me about just how hard that is," she added.
Amin is the founder and CEO of Flexable. She lives in Pittsburgh. The company works on "innovative child care solutions, such as virtual child care, and partner with organizations around the country to provide our child care services as a benefit for working parents."
I hear you!!! I hear the same things. It definitely makes you feel guilty... BUT, I know they’re also proud. I guess the constant challenge is being “present” in whichever realm you’re in, although those lines are certainly blurred working from home! The mom struggle is real! 💜
— Speaking Of Show (@SpeakingOfShow) December 11, 2020
Amin shared that she used to wake up at 4 am when the pandemic began so that she could homeschool her children and then work again at night. "It was a nightmare and not sustainable at all," she said. "I realized that I couldn't work that way and neither could my team. Flexibility has always been at the core of everything we do at our company, and I wanted to make sure that was a part of our culture so that all the folks, especially working parents on our team, felt supported and seen," Amin added. "Getting this picture from my son, though, reminded me that I need to do a better job of modeling that behavior to my team. Now I work when my kids are in school, but log off when they get home," she added.
A cousin of mine talked about work-life balance recently. She said that it doesn’t exist...and I totally agree! We should view it as work-life acceptance!! Makes sense to me...and makes it easier as well!
— Tabitha Griffin (@tabigriffin) January 7, 2021
Speaking about work-life balance, Amin thinks it's a myth. "It does feel really good to know that your kids miss you and want to spend time with you," she said. " But as far as "balance?" "It's more of a crazy juggling act, where all the balls are on fire," she said.
Reference:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/mom-drawing-son-breaks-heart-perspective-75113846
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mommy-you-done-priya-amin/
Cover Image Source: Good Morning America Screenshot
