Elizabeth Lyons is a woman who became a mom of five children, a chauffeur, a hostage negotiator, a plumber and window washer and so much more. Many mothers of five wear these same hats.
But what makes her unique is that, to use her husband's description, she is an inspirational entrepeneur. The fact that she is also an author allows her encourage others to let their inspiration soar so that they can have it all.
(Transcribed from interview)
Parenting: How Can I Be A Mom And Have It All?
Elizabeth Lyons:
Martha Beck, the incomparable Martha Beck, once said there are three different types of women.
There’s the woman who becomes a mom and leaves her job and feels guilty about it. There’s the woman who becomes a mom and stays working and feels guilty about it. There’s the woman who becomes a mom and wants to be working and feels guilty about it. And then there are the mystics.
So, in other words, the mystics are the people who have kind of figured it all out. They are the people who have figured it out how to have the balance, how to have it all.
And I would argue that we all can have it all as long as the all is self-defined and is based on what works for each one of us and our families at any given point in time.
Women, for centuries, have felt guilty about wanting to be more than just a mom. Dad typically goes off to work every day and continues his life, and mom either is at home having left her job to be a full-time mom.
Or she has gone back to work by choice or by necessity and feels guilty about it because the child is in daycare or the child is with a nanny or whatever it is.
Or mom just wants to leave what she is doing and conquer her dreams whether it’s write a book or start a company or travel the world, and they feel guilty about it.
And becoming a mom does not dilute who you are as a woman, and as long as you stay in touch with who you want to be and where you want to go you absolutely can have it all.
http://www.elizabethlyons.com