The Balancing Act: Motherhood, Work, and the Quiet Weight of Anxiety

Life is a balancing act—one many women know all too well.

Right now, I’m sitting quietly in the corner of a room while my babies naps a few feet away. My laptop is open. I’m typing. Thinking. Juggling. And somewhere between answering emails and watching the baby monitor, a question lingers:
Does “work-life balance” truly exist, or is it just a phrase we use to make the chaos feel more manageable?

So much has changed in my life over the past few years.
One of the most profound shifts? I became a mother.

It’s beautiful—yes. But it’s also disorienting.
Suddenly, I’m not just managing tasks and to-do lists. I’m managing emotions—my child’s, my own—and a constant undercurrent of anxiety that hums beneath even the quietest moments. Will I get enough done today? Am I doing enough for my child? For myself? For the work that once defined me?

I remember watching my mother do this same balancing act.
Back then, it looked hard. Now, I know it was harder than I ever imagined.
She carried so much with such grace—and I didn’t fully see the invisible labor, the mental load. The emotional weight she bore daily.

And here I am now, following in her footsteps.
Not with perfection, but with presence. Not with certainty, but with commitment.

I’m learning that balance doesn’t always look like symmetry.
Some days, it’s simply keeping everyone fed and loved.
Other days, it’s letting something go—an email or text unanswered, a dish left in the sink—in order to hold myself with a little more compassion.

Balance, for women—especially mothers—isn’t about having it all.
It’s about knowing what matters most in the moment and giving yourself permission to adjust.
To breathe. To rest. To begin again.

This isn’t about mastering the act.
It’s about honoring the effort.