Work-life balance is a bunch of bullshit.

I am constantly pressed for time. Every second of every day. Part of it is definitely because of what I choose to put on my own plate and part of it is just life as a full-time working mom.

It was this frustration with the whole “juggling” notion that prompted me to write my open letter to Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer recently. When my blog traffic spiked, and spiked quickly, I decided to post it on my LinkedIn page as well. I don’t typically post my blogs there, but this one struck a chord with a lot of working moms in my circle and so I thought it was worth it.

Well….did I get feedback. Some good, some bad, and some downright ugly.

In the confines of my blog, the overwhelming majority of my readers totally get me. They get my voice, my sense of humor, my sarcasm – all of it. Does everyone agree with everything I say and believe? Of course not! And that’s okay. But they are ALWAYS respectful and supportive. So, leaving the bubble of my blog is scary. It means I am going to face my fair share of critics, which is no walk in the park, but it’s something any writer has to deal with, right?

After the letter being featured on a professional development section of LinkedIn, and thousands of views and almost 200 comments later, I was happy when it finally stopped because it was exhausting to deal with the haters. The support I got from men AND women whom I’ve never met was overwhelming. And so were some of the hateful and downright rude comments. And then the crazies were coming out letting their freak flags fly too.

I was praised by some for my take, and criticized by others for (gasp) using profanity on a “professional social network”. Yeezus Christ people, I’m not penning scripture in the bible. I’m expressing an opinion and I’m fired up so I’m choosing to curse for emphasis, because sometimes that’s what works for me. Sorry but I didn’t get the memo that there were restrictions on LinkedIn. And BTDubs, if writing is my profession, don’t I get creative license to share my work on MY page? I don’t regret it and I stand by every last effing word ;)

swift

God forbid any of those prudes ever dig through my blog – they’ll probably blow a gasket and try and have me blackballed from LinkedIn right after they make me repent for my sins and get baptized.

The most rewarding part of the whole thing were the private messages I got. The people who took the time to tell me how much they enjoyed it (down the very last F bomb) and wanted to find a way to work with me because they loved my voice.

One of those was a woman working with an initiative called the It’s Working Project, whose mission is “to help the private sector successfully bring new parents back to work with ease, as a matter of course and with a sense of pride.”. She loved my letter and wanted to profile me about my own experience going back to work with a child. And today, that interview went live and I couldn’t love it more. Because it’s genuine and real which is what I always try to infuse in anything I write.

So, here it is! I hope you will read, share and comment. (you can click this link or the preview below)

Screen Shot 2015-09-15 at 7.16.16 PM

 

 

Thank you to those who show me unwavering support and also to the haters who actually make me want to fight harder to accomplish my goals. And a BIG thanks to the folks at the It’s Working Project by Forty Weeks. You guys ROCK for doing these profiles and allowing us to share our stories with a bigger audience.

xoxo

Rachel

Club W