When I look back at it now, I can’t believe how long I put off becoming a mother. But I remember what I was afraid of.
What scared me the most before I became a mom was the idea that it would mean the end of my career. I grew up thinking I couldn’t be a parent and maintain a successful career at the same time. It was ingrained in me. I was this career-oriented woman, and I never thought I would be “that mom.” I never thought I would put kids before anything else. I thought my work was and always would be the No. 1 thing in my life, and there couldn’t be room for children.
Just the other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine, and he said, “Look at you. I can’t believe a girl with your background, being a child of Armenian immigrants and a mother of two, just gets up and films a movie.” He said it as a compliment, but I couldn’t help but laugh because people do believe, like I used to, that a woman’s working life stops, or should stop, when she becomes a mom.
People think women can’t have it all. But that’s simply not true.
In fact, my career is stronger than ever now. And it was after I became a parent that everything happened for me, and I got more recognition as a working mom. It’s when everything came together and my career took off.
Motherhood has given me strength, or what I like to call special superpowers. They’re powers that I not only didn’t know I had, but I don’t think I did have them until I became a mom. Even the process of pregnancy and labor itself changed me. I feel stronger, like I can do anything. After all, I gave life to two amazing beings. And labor is not an easy thing! If I can go through that, honey, I can do anything.
Being a mom has given me greater fortitude and more resolve. It’s taught me to never take no for an answer, or, when I do hear a no as an answer, to not stop there. If it’s a hard no and there’s a locked door in front of me, I look at things a different way. I used to think a rejection was the end of my life. Now I look at rejections as blessings. Maybe that door wasn’t meant for me. I go home and see my kids and forget about any setback that I dealt with in the day.
The funny thing is, now that I’m a mom, I can’t even remember what my life was like in my pre-mom years. And that was only three years ago! Motherhood has changed my entire perspective and proved to me what life is all about.
The most important thing about motherhood is that it’s changed my perspective about what’s important in life. I haven’t abandoned my career. Trust me, I love to work. I love to make money and make it rain. I love following my passion and creating things every day. I love new opportunities and projects that set my soul on fire.
But every day, I make choices that put my kids first. Everything else comes after them. I organize my day after setting up my kids first thing in the morning, whether it’s making breakfast for them, dropping Collette off at school, and so forth. Once my kids are handled, then I handle my business.
I’ve also learned to get over awful experiences and forgive people who hurt me in my past. Motherhood has taught me there’s no time to hold onto hatred and resentment. There’s no room in my body or mind to harbor that chaotic energy. Forgiveness is so refreshing, and I owe it to my kids for teaching me that. With forgiveness, I have a lighter heart and spirit, and I don’t hold onto any negative thoughts. I’m proud of the woman I’ve become as a mother.
