Career Break

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​As I work to upskill my professional abilities, and revamp my career goals, there is one gaping hole I need to explain and fill in which is my 6-year career break.  In my mind, I feel frustrated to call it that as a break could not possibly describe my experience over the past 6 years as a stay at home mom.  I have grown and learned so much as a person. I have had a chance to step away from work that I had been doing for 15 years and come back with a fresh perspective.  As Tosha Schore and Patty Wipfler remark in their book Listen  where they describe the perception of parenting work note:
 
“Your parenting work is almost invisible in the world.  With zero fanfare and a million interactions, you build your children’s character…but there is no preparation, pay or protection from the overwhelming circumstances for parents.  Parenting holds the economic status of a hobby.”
 
It has been a challenging six years that began when I left work to care for my daughter who we adopted from India at the age of 4.  Trauma and a rare birth defect have made things especially challenging for my daughter.  There were many surgeries and hospitals stays as well as an educational system that did not know how to help her thrive.  Two and a half years ago, we began fostering my now adopted son who came to us from a really horrible situation at the age of 6.  Then COVID hit and there was no question the right choice for our family was for me to stay home and support our children.
 
Adoption is known as an elephant pregnancy as each one can take 2-3 years. For us it was a 10-year journey where I certainly learned how to navigate a foreign adoption system and our domestic foster care and medical system.  Learning how to parent is a process in itself.  Learning how to parent children with significant trauma requires an entirely different set of tools that took time and energy to cultivate.  Making up for the years of my children’s childhood that I missed, requires a commitment that I felt bound to as they adjusted to a new family and life.
 
I was fortunate to land a seasonal job at Girls Who Code as a site lead this summer.  It was an incredible experience where I was placed in a position that required all of my skills and experience and paid well.  Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code has recently started a new initiative called, Marshall Plan for Moms whose mission it is “to transform our workplaces, our culture and our government to enable moms to thrive.”  I feel strongly that this philosophy played strongly in my ability to get such a fitting job as this one, but unfortunately it was only for the summer. 
 
And frankly, I still need this year with my children, who are doing wonderfully at 8 and 10, but still need some support.  I am using my spare time to learn the skills I will need to re-enter the workforce in the field of Learning Experience Design and Curriculum Development.  I have been working part-time as a boxing coach too, which feeds a strong desire to give back to the sport that gave me so much.  I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for me as I come back to work from a “break” that has taught me so much about what is truly important in life.