Balancing act: You can't have it all

This morning, I woke up a little before 5am. An hour earlier than my alarm clock was set to go off. I often telework twice a week and on those days, I get to "sleep in" until 5:50am since my office for the day is down the hall.

I roll out of bed and get to work catching up on emails and prepping for my day. However, today is different. Our 19-month old has gotten up a couple of times over the course of the night. First because she wanted some milk to soothe her back to sleep and then again because she was wet and needed to be changed. Her sheets also need to be changed.

Our 4 year old has a cold and since she is at the moment practicing for her Oscar acceptance speech, she has decided that crying is the best way to convey her message.

Then to top it all off, I logged in to begin my work day and encountered some issues with my projects. It isn't even 6am yet and already, I feel stressed.

I look around me and try to think back to all the women I know who are moms, have a full time job and seem to have it all.

Before I met my husband and had kids, I often believed that a woman indeed could have it all. I never understood how much work goes into being a wife, mom and an employee. Let's face it, we live in a time where both parents NEED to work to make ends meet. Women no longer have the "stay-at-home mom" title as their main title. The choice to stay at home is not an option for us right now.

As I sit here trying to figure out what tasks I can accomplish today and what will have to wait until tomorrow, I take a deep breath and remind myself that Rome was not built in one day and everything takes time. I can't have it all. I can't accomplish it all in one day.

I CAN however, work hard at being the best I can be today.

The best gift I can give my family is the gift being healthy, the gift of my love, the gift of my contribution and the gift of a smile :-).