Fabulous Achievements
As my Mother did for me, Comeback Moms imagine great and fabulous achievements for their children. For my Mother, it was that I should be a Doctor. When I was young, I think I wanted to be a Doctor because that is what Zeffa saw for me. It was many years before I knew my true passion and natural skills, business, marketing and writing.
As a parent, I am very cautious about telling my children what they should be when they grow up. I look for signs of natural abilities and interests and give them suggestions of careers to look into. The jobs in which they may be working for a livelihood may not even exist today so how can I sway them into a specific direction and not help them to discover their passion? Who knew in the 50s that coloring (via computer animations) would actually be a viable career option? I just know that whatever they choose they will be fabulous.
I likely would not change a thing about my career choices as they were inexplicably intertwined with my choices for family and work balance. Being a current, Comeback Mom has been challenging. Especially since, I have not followed a traditional career path in which to reenter a specific rung on the corporate “ladder.” This time it’s been more difficult; maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s the changing workplace, or maybe it’s the fall-out from an initially unplanned hiatus that turned into a graduate degree and a new found appreciation of self.
While conducting job and freelance searches, everyday, I have to remind myself that I am fabulous, a thought originally planted by Zeffa. Every working woman whether a Comeback Mom or not, should remind herself every day of how fabulous she is. I thank Jeanne Sullivan, founder at Starvest Partners, and my “fabulous” graduate adjunct professor of Marketing at The College of St. Elizabeth, for her urging to do so and her help in believing it is so. I hope you all believe you’re fabulous as well and if not, have your own mentor to help prop you up when needed.
Let me hear of fabulous achievements from other Comeback Moms no matter what career path you take, while raising your family and making your Comeback. Be fabulous! Live fabulous! Achieve fabulous! Mom and Jeanne, I just want to let you know, I’m trying!
Tory Johnson
Absolutely Annie
Balanced Woman
Been There, Done That
Career Changer
Fulltime Freelancer
Girl on the Go
Girlphyte
Image Architect
Magic Hands
Multitasking Madre
New Girl on the Job
Outside the Box
Planet Mom
Small Business Susan
Vivacious Vicki
Work in Progress
Comments (6)
Up until now have missed this website and how excited to find this. Now even though past experience has taught me to risk, and even if my best girls and I can't connect on a daily basis, wow , i'm onto something great. Thank you, sincerely.
— Posted by Sue Ellen Smith | September 18, 2007 10:54 AM | Comment Permalink
Up until now have missed this website and how excited to find this. Now even though past experience has taught me to risk, and even if my best girls and I can't connect on a daily basis, wow , i'm onto something great. Thank you, sincerely.
— Posted by Sue Ellen Smith | September 18, 2007 10:54 AM | Comment Permalink
What do you do if you've nothing to come back to? Until a year ago, I had not held a paying job since 1981. I was a full time global nomad Mom who explored the world with my kids from Los Angeles to Paris, Amsterdam, Bali and now New York. They have had amazingly rich experiences, and they all have the travel bug. My son and daughter are in Sydney, another is traveling through China after living in Japan for the last two years, and my youngest, who is only 16 is still at home and finishing high school, looking forward to her first solo trip to Europe. For my part, I am ready to be done with the 'mothering' stuff!
So a year ago, I made a coming out... I decided that I wanted to go into business for myself. I was already an author and a singer, but I wanted to actually make some money. Well, easier said than done, of course. In my case, it was all about creating credentials. Somehow as a 'Mom' you are easily dismissed as not having experience. It was true that I had no corporate background, had never really held a professional position I could lay a title on, but I felt sure that my experiences were more than enough to build on. So I created Fearless Fifties as a way of connecting to women of 'un age certain' as the French would say, who were ready to pursue the life they really wanted.
I started creating my credentials and to earn my 'expert' status. So far it's taken me to PBS and ABC as part of a social networking segment, and I've done quite a few radio interviews. It seems to be working. I'm proud of what I've accomplished to date. There is still much more I can do to enhance the experience and build my credentials, but I've got a great team of people around me who are helping me to understand the 'business'.
My advice to anyone contemplating this kind of radical change is go for it. I get moments when I wonder 'what are you doing?' but for the most part, I'm happy to be engaged in creating something that is changing my life and the lives of those I work with. How lucky can I be?
— Posted by Jacqueline Wales | September 7, 2007 10:59 AM | Comment Permalink
I am trying to get a group together on the Womenforhire website under the title "OnRamp Moms" to get women together facing the same challenge of going back to the workforce after an absence. Look for the group under "Working Moms". Thanks!
— Posted by WellsMo | August 11, 2007 11:04 AM | Comment Permalink
Janine,
I appreciate your comments. Our mothers and we have been placed in an unusual time for women, haven't we? The challenge is to make difficult decisions for ourselfves and our families.
Thank you for your insight.
— Posted by Susan Parsons | August 6, 2007 8:57 AM | Comment Permalink
Thank you Janine...I am thankful for your kind words. My own kids don't listen to me so I am pleased someone pays attention! It is said with great sincerity. The reason: I am always baffled by "Fabulous" people like Janine Swenson is because they are often the last to really know it and understand it and then there's the rest of the world who have so much hubris and ego-state and are quck to inform everyone of their huge accomplishments due to their large brains and abilities.
To all of you with accomplishments and talents, I encourage you to "let your light shine" and go for it. But don't forget that fate, luck, hard work, timing and a little magic all goes into the mix. I look forward to reading your stories, too.
— Posted by jeanne sullivan | August 1, 2007 3:30 PM | Comment Permalink