In February of 2023 I had a mental breakdown. I was in the middle of writing a house description for a new listing and my fingers froze on the keyboard. My mind and my hands stopped working together and I couldn’t physically type. A few months later it was decided that I would take a sabbatical for the summer and so I did! I didn’t work from May through September. When I started back up in real estate that Fall, I fell right back into the same patterns that led me to my mental breakdown. In January of 2024 I decided it was time to get some help and hired a mental health and parenting coach, Kate Kripke. She works with high achieving women and would ultimately change my life forever. We worked together for the next year where I would complete two of her courses. A few months into working with Kate I came to a major realization that would take me another year to admit out loud to the world. I never realized how much weight five words could hold or how hard it would be to not only admit to myself but to everyone else. ‘I want to stop working.’
Deep down I knew this was not only what I wanted but what me and my family needed. It was time for me to push pause on something that was no longer filling my cup. In fact, it was actually draining me. In real estate, you never really turn it off. My hours were heavy on nights and weekends. Think about it, you work all day and then when you get off you’re immediately thinking of all things personal which if you were house hunting meant time to see houses, discuss contracts, etc. It was consuming my life and taking every bit of time I had away from my family. I would be on calls while getting dinner ready and yelling at the girls to be quiet because mommy was talking to a client. I would be on a call and have to tell the girls that I couldn’t play right now because I had to work. I was there but I wasn’t there. Something had to change and the decision that we made was for me to push pause on my career.
So much of me was wrapped up in my career—identity, self worth and purpose. Kate and I had A LOT to unpack together. Feelings of shame, guilt, failure, disappointment…all very real and valid. We spent months unraveling limited beliefs and implementing new tools. Let me tell ya, it was HARD. Lots of tears were shed and many realizations were made throughout this process.
So here I am, a few months into my new role as a stay at home mom! I am in such a better place mentally and very proud of how far I’ve come but I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that this new role comes with its own challenges. I’m in a unique position to have the perspective of both a working mom and a stay at home mom and let me tell you one thing right now—neither have it easy. Every bit of Motherhood is a balancing act where you are constantly being pulled in a million different directions and allocating your time to others all while trying to find yourself again. It is a full time job and no one can convince me otherwise.
I’m going to bring you along with me on this next journey. Life unfiltered as a working mom turned stay at home mom on the road to discovering myself while navigating Motherhood. We are going to talk about it all, no holding back. I hope that in being vulnerable and sharing it all with the world I will be able to inspire others to share their own stories and help those who feel like they’re the only one going through all of this. If there is one thing I’ve learned by posting on this page so far it is that we are all far more alike than you realize!