The Final At-Bat: What My Youngest Son Taught Me About Work-Life Balance
When I started my career over 30 years ago, I couldn’t picture this moment. I couldn’t imagine being a mom and a professional, especially one determined to climb the corporate ladder. There weren’t many women in tech back then. Honestly, that’s still an issue, but that’s a conversation for another day.
Today, I find myself navigating some of the most emotional milestones of my life. My youngest son, Max, turned 18 today and is graduating from high school in the coming months. My second youngest is graduating from Berklee in Boston this week, an unbelievable feat that he earned through hard work, determination, and years of growing up with a part-time parent cheering him on from the sidelines.
Each of my kids has marked a different chapter of my life. I’ve been proud of each of them in their own way. But celebrating Max’s senior year has been something else entirely.
My kids will joke that Max is my favorite, the baby, that I’ve always liked him more. Maybe. But the truth is that with Max, I liked me more.
Max represents a lot of firsts for me. He was the first child I gave myself permission to take any real form of maternity leave for. Two weeks. Not much, but it was a start. I didn’t bring my phone into the delivery room until the very last possible moment. That felt radical back then. I was terrified of missing a meeting, a launch, or a decision. I worried that being present as a mother would be seen as being absent as an executive. With Max, I threw caution to the wind and did what I wanted, not what I felt I had to do to protect my role.
He also represents one of the most significant professional decisions I’ve made in recent years. In 2024, I turned down a truly incredible role with an incredible team because it would have taken me too far from home. Instead, I chose a path that kept me grounded in New Jersey, a minimal flight to our HQ, and close enough to catch Max’s final baseball games. His final at-bats. The final moments of a senior year I now cherish. And if I’m honest, I wish I’d had more of those with my older kids.
I’m sharing this here because, for the first time in my career, I’m not afraid of what others will think. I’m not worried about compromising my title or feeding into the fear of missing out that so many of us carry after years of climbing the corporate ranks.
I know now that I can be both. I can be a present leader and a present parent. I can run a business and still run to the bleachers. I can say no to a work trip and yes to lunch with my son. I can be a CEO and still cry at graduation.
2025 is full of firsts. My youngest is becoming an adult. I have two big, proud graduations ahead. I’m stepping into my first CEO role with full responsibility, not just in support. But maybe the most important first is this: I’ve finally allowed myself to lead with the title that’s always mattered most to me—mom.
To all the working moms, dads, caregivers, and support systems out there who make raising the next generation of founders, visionaries, and leaders possible: celebrate both your career and home highs. You’ve earned it.
Wishing you a joyful Mother’s Day this weekend. And a reminder, if you need it—
I’m not just a woman in tech. I’m not just an executive. First and foremost, I’m a mom.
