There is no more exhilarating feeling as a business woman than when you are pumping on all cylinders and everything is moving in the right direction. After spending countless hours tweaking and drastically overhauling business plans and marketing targets you finally feel good about where your brand is going.  It's a fairytale.

 

Then suddenly you look around and your family is cheering you on but their voices of enthusiasm aren’t quite the pitch you expected. Enter “Mommy Guilt”.

Trust me I’m just as tired as the next mom of the constant whining about guilt, balance, and the endeavor to have it all. But the reason why there are 823,000 results for “mommy guilt” on google is that it continues to affect us all. I just recently had a $28 dose of it. No, I don’t mean I indulged $28 on a guilt driven toy or activity. I literally mean I was given $28 of guilt.

 

My six year old, who is as close to me in personality cloning that one could get, had a melt down last week. I was going to be out of the house for a few hours and he was clingy. Not unlike him at the end of a long week. But the whimper turned to sobs and the sobs to a complete meltdown gasping for breath and clutching my neck and shoulders in a hug that mimicked modern day guillotine. “Why do you have to work so much?” he said through pouring eyes.

 

I gave the appropriate psychological response for his age. “Well, I work so that we have money for all the things we want and need.”   He jumped from lap, ran into his room, and brought back his entire life savings…$28. “Here. You can have my money. Now please quit working.”

 

In all my years of corporate mommy business travel, week-long meetings, and late night BP sessions I have never been offered “the bank” to quit. Now that I run my own brand and I rarely travel overnight my youngest has been broken to the limit. For a quick minute I thought of bagging it all up, putting on my baseball hat and faded jeans and running for president of the Parent-Teacher Association. I thought for a few more minutes about canceling my engagement for the evening and hanging out with him to soothe his aching heart. But then I remembered something…

 

I’ve worked very hard the last couple of years to get the brand to where it is currently. My boys learn valuable lessons with regards to women, relationships, parenting, and life in general by watching me manage work and life with my DH. My 6-year old would see me again in a few hours and all would be right with the world again.

 

It took a few minutes and a long cleansing breath to fight that red-eyed guilt monster.  I continued my plans for the night and after an hour or so (and a few lemon drop martinis) the entire event was behind me. To make it up to him the next day I suggested we go see “Alvin and the Chipmunks” together. His response? “Nah mom, I just want to play my DS and chillax.”