I can remember a time when I was all too aware of the growing 'gap' in my resume. The gap between when my last job ended and the present. The gap that was widening by the day. Let me back up. A few months into landing my dream job at a major art museum in Los Angeles, I found out I was pregnant. Hardly anyone at the museum had kids, and I knew of exactly zero co-workers who were raising babies. It was not a family-friendly environment, to say the least. In part because I couldn't see a way to make all the pieces work, and in part because that dream job started to become less and less fulfilling, I decided to quit once our first son was born. I was thrilled by the opportunity to embrace full-time motherhood, but the unknown-ness of how long it would last (and its impact on my future career) made me anxious. I used to measure my professional worth by the number of curators I supported, the size of the exhibition budgets I tracked, and the fame of the artists we rubbed shoulders with. Now, with my days full of diapers threatening to overflow the pail, sleep that came in 1-3 hour spurts, and breastmilk everywhere...I just didn't feel that important. Maybe you can relate. Mama, I want you to know today: You are more than your resume. Am I proud of my clients' professional accomplishments? Heck yeah. But for the mom who is working a job that doesn't line up with her passions . . . For the mom who is in between work and doesn't have the faintest clue what she'll do next . . . For the mom who feels invisible to society without a job title . . . You are loved. You are enough. You are more than your job accomplishments. Remember what it was like when your child was first born? The way you cherished their smell, their grunts, their tiny fingernails? You loved them just for BEING. They didn't have to do a single thing to impress you. And you, too, are loved just for BEING. Praying for you to know this today, Charissa
6 Comments
Ruby
2/22/2017 12:46:43 pm
Charissa - this is lovely, thank you for the reminder.
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Charissa Pomrehn
2/28/2017 07:25:30 pm
That means a lot to me coming from you, Ruby!
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Grace
2/23/2017 05:29:42 pm
So much truth! Preach it! And thank you for the encouragement
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Charissa Pomrehn
2/28/2017 07:26:57 pm
Yes!! So glad it resonated with you, Grace!
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Sarah
3/2/2017 08:10:57 am
Yes!! This is truth. Thanks for writing and sharing. Often I think, in order to alleviate those feelings of lacking in some way professionally, we can try to convince ourselves or justify that our *mothering* is such important work (which is true) but beyond the mothering, we are loved simply for BEING. I ❤ this.
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3/2/2017 12:06:11 pm
Blowing my mind, Sarah! I was really focused on how we can put our worth in our professional resumes, but YES, we can start to put our worth in the quality of our mothering, as well. So powerful. <3
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