by Kimberly Crossland, Owner of Savvy Copywriters
I’ve written for The Vail Voice for several years now and love the publication, as well as the team behind it. My life behind-the-scenes has changed quite a bit since we started working together. When my first article was published, I was a budding businesswoman who was building a marketing agency from home. Then, I had my first child. And shortly after, I added a second baby to the mix. Today, I’m a proud work-from-home mom with one mission: To stay sane.
Laugh all you want (and you should laugh at that) but here’s the truth. My sanity means my children are happier because I’m happier. My sanity means I’m able to grow a business that puts formula in my baby’s mouth and food on my toddler’s orange silicone placemat. Sanity is what enables me to put time towards projects I believe will help this community develop in the right direction. So, sanity is what I strive for on a daily basis. There are many working parents in our area with the same mission. That’s because we cannot do good in this world if we’re broken. We cannot fill another person’s glass with water when we have no water to give.
When we brainstormed a new series to start at The Vail Voice, the theme of offering solidarity and support for the working parents in this community rose to the surface. As a mom with two children under the age of two and a homegrown business, I feel qualified (or at least, qualified enough) to author this series. So, here we are. And I think it’s worthwhile to note that the reason why I’m able to write a post for working parents is because times have changed.
We live in a new economy fueled by online connections. More people have started building independent careers for themselves in lieu of tackling a long morning commute down Old Spanish Trail and over the bumpy section of asphalt on Broadway between Harrison and Camino Seco. Today, parents have more options to “have-it-all” because technology has opened more doors for us.
But here’s the thing. This whole concept of using technology so we can have it all is one giant experiment. Entrepreneurship is a huge experiment. Becoming a parent for the first time feels a lot like a huge experiment, despite the millions of books and blogs that have been written on the subject. That’s because there’s no one right way to do things. There’s only the thing that works for you, for your business, and especially for your babies. I don’t pretend to be the expert on this topic by any means. So who am I to lift the veil on the life of a working parent?
I’m someone who’s living the same experiment as you, fellow work-from-home mom or dad. I’m someone who’s deep in the trenches, fighting sleepless nights while meeting grueling deadlines and trying to keep my household in order. But more importantly, I’m your cheerleader because I’m someone who gets how amazing this life can be with a little bit of support from someone else.
Do you think this series will be a valuable one? We’d love to hear from you. Tell us on our Facebook wall (at https://www.facebook.com/thevailvoice) what you think and what you’d like some solidarity in these days. I’m here for you. We’re here for you. And by rallying together as a community, we’ll continue to raise children who steer the direction of the greater Vail area toward greatness. You with me?