I've always believed moms can do it all. But sometimes you have to change things in order to do everything you want to do. That's what I did.
Now, in the seventh year since I became a mom, I'm producing my second show at Lincoln Center, the world's leading performing arts center. The first was a production I worked on, but this time it's a show I created. And the irony is that it's nothing I set out to accomplish but now it's what I want professionally.
When my first son was born I was working at a network morning show. It was the wrong job for me and it was certainly at the wrong time. The hours were long and unpredictable. I had been working in news for almost 10 years, and interning in television since I was 14. It was a dream I chased and accomplished but suddenly wasn't right. I lasted at the job for three months after my maternity leave ended. Then I felt the need make a change. Luckily for me, my old boss Shelley Ross, rescued me. With one simple phone call my life changed.
"I heard you quit. Do you want to work or be a mom?" Ross asked less than 24 hours after I left my job.
"Both. Work, but not like I had been."
And so, I was Ross' new sidekick, producing David Blaine's upcoming event at Lincoln Center.
I spent the next year in a world full of promise, creativity and surrounded by people who believe anything is possible. It was in that magical world that I became more driven than ever to be sure I could make everything possible.
While I worked as hard as I always had, I was able to find the balance I needed to work the way I wanted to work -- and be a mom the way I wanted to be a mom. It worked so well I didn't want it to end. I found the perfect place to do it all with David Blaine. I had another child and produced more exciting, creative and artistic projects. But none would ever top the first event with him at Lincoln Center.
Now, I have the opportunity to back there with a new project. And it's in an entirely different world -- the world of fashion. Another passion, but far from my profession.
This week, thanks to the impetus from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, another mom, our show, Strut, The Fashionable Mom Show, is presenting during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. The show will feature a wide range of designers and brands showcasing looks in stores now. But the best parts of our creation are the moms walking the runway. They are all hard-working, everyday real moms. They are entrepreneurs with dreams, just like me. They are moms who have created their own blogs, brands and businesses. They are moms chasing their dreams. And while we all may look different, have different styles, and want different things, we'll all be strutting together.
And for me, it's just another example of so many who do it all.