Select Region
Follow us!
  • ACTIVITIES
    • Calendar Weekend Events in Manhattan Weekend Events in Brooklyn Weekend Events in Queens Weekend Events in Long Island Weekend Events in Westchester Weekend Events in Rockland/Bergen
  • After-School
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Education
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Camp
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Special Needs
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Advertise


    • Home Parenting Articles
    A Mom Unmasked: Hanging Up the Superhero Cape

    A Mom Unmasked: Hanging Up the Superhero Cape

    By Maya Bernstein

    The work-life balance: We all try to attain it, but sometimes our efforts fall short. The story of why one mother's cross country trip made her question her work-life balance and why she's hanging up her superhero cape.

    In the theory of leadership that I teach in my professional life, I often talk about “Hero Stories.” The idea goes like this: Each night, when we lie on our pillows, before we drift into sleep, we tell ourselves a story about our day. We think over what has happened, and we create a narrative arc, a storyline that helps us make sense of what has occurred. Inevitably, we make ourselves the heroes of that story. The problem is: All of the people with whom our paths have crossed are going to bed on that very same night, and they’re telling themselves stories about their days. And it’s highly unlikely that we are the heroes of their stories. If we’re lucky, we’re innocent bystanders. Sometimes, though, we’re the evil queen.

    It never occurred to me that I was doing this very thing in my personal life—until a recent trip to New York, that is. On that trip, from beginning until end, my hero status unraveled so thoroughly before my eyes that it made me hang up my cape.

    I had such a good plan! I knew way in advance that I was going to have to travel to New York for two work obligations in February. Due to the timing of these events, I was either going to have to fly back and forth from San Francisco to New York within a very short time span, or that I was going to have to be away from my family (and nursing baby) for more than 10 days.



    Neither option seemed good. It also happens to be that my entire extended family—my parents, aunts and uncles, grandmother, sister, and brother—all live in the New York metro area, and it is difficult for us to get together. So I hatched a plan: My husband could take his paternity leave, and we would all go east together. I would work at either end of the trip, and during the time in the middle, we would have the rare opportunity to spend time with my family and to enjoy New York City.

    What a hero I was! I would be a great professional, flying across the country to work. I would be a wonderful mom, exposing my children to the cultural riches of a great city. I would be a wonderful daughter, granddaughter, sister, and niece, creating the opportunity for our family to be together. I couldn’t have been more excited.

    Read the rest of this post by Maya Bernstein on Kveller.

      

    More Parenting Articles:

    Ask @DadandBuried: How Can I Involve My Child in Buying Gifts This Year?

    Mike Julianelle, the Brooklyn dad behind the popular Dad and Buried blog and social accounts, shares advice for getting your kids involved in buying h...


    Latest News:

    Ask @DadandBuried: I’m Excited to Host for the Holidays. Am I Crazy?

    Mike Julianelle, the Brooklyn dad behind the popular Dad and Buried blog and social accounts, shares his take on hosting holidays and why it’s okay to...


    Family Activities:



    Have a Laugh:

    Best Memes of the Week for Parents

    Here are the funniest parenting memes from Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit this week.
    Maya Bernstein

    Author:

    In her day job, Maya Bernstein is a consultant on innovation, leadership, and creativity, and an associate at UpStart, a Jewish nonprofit Accelerator. By night, she is a poet and blogger on the joys and challenges of motherhood, whose work has appeared on Kveller and the Lilith Blog. She, her husband, and their 4 children recently relocated from the Bay Area, where they have been living for over a decade, to the NY Area, where Maya grew up.

    See More

    Featured Listings:

    Tim Morehouse Fencing Club

    Tim Morehouse Fencing Club

    Port Chester, NY Looking for a fun and challenging sport for your child? Try fencing. It’s a sport of strategy that engages both mind and body. Fencing is great for sp...

    Urban Air Lake Grove

    Urban Air Lake Grove

    Lake Grove, NY Escape the same old birthday formulas with a unique experience that allows you run, jump and soar! Test your skills in the Warrior Obstacle Course and...

    Blue Sky Counseling Associates

    Blue Sky Counseling Associates

    Mohegan Lake, NY The mission of Blue Sky Counseling Associates is to guide individuals, couples, and family on a journey of achieving psychological and spiritual well-...

    About Us

    NYMetroParents, the parenting division of Schneps Media, publishes eight regional print magazines around the greater New York City metro region, as well as the website nymetroparents.com.

    Read more...

    Join Us

    This Month's Issue

    NYMP Cover
    Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy SE Link