Secret to Success as a Working Mom During Back to School Season: Make Everyone Feel Loved

Family in Chautauqua

 

Greetings from Chaton's World in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! In my world, my days often start with laundry, early-morning emails, and making my kids a hot breakfast. They often end with late-night homework checks, making Instagram reels, and appearing on Celebrity Court of Public Opinion. Somewhere in between, I’m navigating boardrooms, working towards deadlines, and immersed in the good, bad, and ugly chaos of motherhood and household management. As a working mom of three and a professional carving out space in corporate environments, I share my journey of balancing leadership with loving my family, and I sprinkle it with self-care tips. Here, you’ll find honest reflections, hard-earned lessons, and practical strategies for creating an authentic life that you enjoy. If you’re trying to do it all without losing yourself in the process, you have found your sister in the struggle! Continue reading to discover some thoughts, hacks, and/or lessons that I have learned from navigating my world.

Historically, as summer begins to wind down, I have vowed that this will be the year I have everything perfectly organized. And, it has never happened.

I think that I have failed to achieve that goal because when school starts, I am still me. And, when school starts, I still have a busy career, my kids remain slightly indulged and their schedules become more intense when school starts.   

So, what does success look like if you lack perfectly coordinated family calendar either because you didn't create one or because the other parent refuses to participate in one? What does sucess look like if after the first month of school, your kids wear mismatched socks? 

 Back to School, Not Back to Perfect: The Real Goal Is Making Everyone Feel Loved

What I didn't realize then is that many of the mothers around me were having the exact same thought.

If you're heading into back-to-school season with an 8-, 12-, and 15-year-old while working full time, like I am, let me offer you something every mom needs to hear:

Contrary to what you may read in the media, hear from your mother, or the thoughts you have running rent free in your head, you do not need to do this perfectly to do it right.

I have reached this conclusion because perfection is an elusive standard and pursuing it can drive you crazy! I realized recently that success during back-to-school season is about finding a rhythm and a system that works for your family. There is no success if each day begins with yelling and gnashing of teeth. I have vivid morning memories growing up where my mom would loudly say to anyone listening, "Only what you do for Christ will last."  I think that was her way of saying that she was surrounded by a bunch of ingrates. Even if that is true, I strive for a kinder, gentler and less fatalistic approach.

Working Mom Reminder: Your Kids Don't Need Perfect. They Need You.

I truly believe that I have the ability to create the atmosphere that I want my kids to live in. And even if it is messy and a little chaotic, it can still be blessed. Does that mean that we won't have any day where there are tears on my part or on the part of one of the kiddos, I doubt it. Does that mean that nobody will forget something they needed at home? I doubt that too. And does that mean that I won't ever say something that I regret in the frenzy of trying to make everything work. I doubt that too.

That isn't failure.

That's life.

However, I don't doubt is that my kids will be cognizant every day that their mom tries really hard,  she actually enjoys being their mom, and that she intentionally makes decisions that she believes are in their collective best interest. 

So, am I saying that I won't try to become more organized, more efficient, or somehow finding more hours in the day. Absolutely not, I am committed to trying to improve everything that I can to make this ship run more smoothly. 

It's just that I intend replace the pursuit of perfection with presence. I realized that I only have one more back-to-school season with all of my kids at home. So, I am committed to teaching them every day what it means to be a family who loves each other, even if at times we are slightly out of balance.

The goal is not balance every day. The goal is balance over time.

Of course, practical systems help and I will continue to write about them in later posts. This post though is about reminding all of us that the purpose of family is love. So, as this back-to-school season continues to unfold, remember that you have already won if your kids know that you love them