Latch, Laugh, and Repeat

Shout out to the work-from-home moms.
The ones who wake up late and instantly realize the schedule’s already shot.
Who throw on cartoons for survival, skip breakfast for caffeine, and jump straight into work before they’ve even exhaled.
The ones who show up to a 10:00am Zoom call with a smile while muting the chaos in the background and biting their tongue when the guy on the other side is just plain rude.

You’re not lazy. You’re not failing.
You’re navigating two full-time jobs — raising a tiny human and running a business — at the same time.
You’re holding it all together while it all tries to fall apart.
And that deserves more recognition than any productivity hack ever will.

The Myth of “Doing It All”

My husband leaves for work every morning at 6:30AM. That means from the second my eyes open, I’m on.
Solo.
In charge of everything — baby, dogs, cat, meals, diapers, brushing my own teeth, maybe a workout, maybe clean clothes — all before 9:30AM.

Oh, and I manage a team across the world whose day is ending just as mine begins. Their night shift is my morning madness. So I’m expected to give full-day feedback by 11:30AM EST… while making oatmeal and refereeing a toddler tornado.

The second I pick up my phone, I feel the pull: respond to my team. But the second I pick up my phone in front of my daughter, I feel the guilt.

So I do what most of us do. I put on a show to distract her and I get to work — then hate myself for it. And when I finally get into a work flow, it’s already time to remind myself to log off before I completely burn out.

I never — ever — put work ahead of my daughter when she’s sick, upset, or simply needs me. But I’ve had to learn that balance the hard way.

Sometimes, you have to cancel the entire day and just be mom.
And that doesn’t make you less capable. It makes you wise.

When Everything Feels Like It’s Falling Apart

Not long ago, I took my first real vacation. I mean fully offline — no screens, no check-ins, no sneak peeks at my inbox. It was the mental and emotional reset I didn’t even know I was starving for. I came back refreshed and ready to crush the new year.

And then?
My daughter got sick.
Then I got sick.
My five-day reset turned into three full weeks offline.

I panicked.
I felt behind.
I watched my inbox pile up and thought, everything’s going to fall apart.

But it didn’t.

The truth is — I had set my team up to thrive without me. My coworkers supported me. My clients didn’t disappear. The work was still there when I came back, but so was my energy to face it.

That experience changed me.
It taught me that rest isn’t the enemy of productivity.
And that stepping away doesn’t mean you’re failing — it means you’re prioritizing what matters most.

The Reframe: You Are Enough

If my best friend told me she “didn’t do enough today,” I’d ask:

Did you wake up?
Take care of your babies?
Feed yourself once?

Then you did enough.

You don’t need to check off a 30-item to-do list, build a business empire, or do something extraordinary to be considered valuable.

You are valuable because you exist.

You are enough even when the laundry piles up.
Even when the day slips through your fingers.
Even when the only thing you accomplished was keeping a tiny person alive.

Let me say it again:
You. Are. Enough.

A Note to Every Work-From-Home Mom Out There

Working from home is not easy.
When your partner comes home and casually says,
“I see we did nothing today…”

Don’t panic.
Don’t spiral.
I see you.

You took care of a human.
You worked your ass off — in real life and online.
You regulated your emotions and theirs. You juggled chaos. You kept going.

Your value isn’t tied to how many tabs you had open.
It’s in how you keep showing up — even when it’s hard.

And here’s the truth no one tells you:

Consistent schedules are a myth.
Your child will remind you of that daily.
Flexibility is the only plan that works.

And if your job doesn’t support that reality?
It might not be the right fit.
If you’re working for yourself, stop trying to prove your worth by how much you can squeeze into one day.
Give yourself space to flow, not just perform.

Because you’re doing more than enough already.

P.S. If no one’s told you lately, I’m proud of you.
If this resonated, share it with a fellow mom who might need the reminder too.