It's not surprising that we see the world in black-and-white; we are highly rewarded for doing so at work and it allows us to meet our goals. But that's not the skill needed for handling the tug of war between a career and motherhood.

Sometimes, I have a day. You know. One of THOSE days. Where the hours fly past at a whirlwind pace and by the time the dust settles, I can't even believe everything that's happened and that DAMN, this parenting schtick is hard.

Several years ago, my life was the picture of success. Every day, I woke up in the dark, roused my two young children and began my morning routine: get out the door by 6 a.m., drop both children off at their private school and race like mad to catch the train.

It was the worst when I was home alone with the children. That superstar mom our social worker described in her reports was nowhere to be seen and I found myself wondering how to summon the strength to meet their basic needs. Dress, feed, kiss, play -- these felt like monumental tasks.

"I'm too tired. I. Need. To. Sleep." I collapse (delicately) over my daughter. I feign magnificent snoring and thrashing, and she laughs with her whole body. It's perfect and yet some nights, the ugly secret I try to keep secret rears its nasty head.

During the town hall-style debate, I fell asleep about three sentences before Romney's "binders full of women" remark. I didn't learn about it until I saw a couple of biting posts on Facebook the following day.

If you are reaching for the C Suite, then you will probably not become the first grade room mother, attend every performance and game or be home every night for dinner. What being a high-achieving mother doesn't mean, however, is that your children will necessarily suffer emotionally

My mom was my first great love and my first great loss, which makes me a guilt-stricken mother.

Many moms are happy and willing to martyr themselves.

I was voted most likely to succeed in ninth grade. Now, I don't want to be excessively self-deprecating and assert that it's been all down hill since, but I think it's fair to say that a jury of 14-year-old peers may not have anticipated the curve ball that motherhood would throw me.

It's been more than two weeks since I returned to work and I'm happy to say, my brain and my heart are faring much better.

As far as I can tell, no matter what decision a woman makes, she's offering an invaluable gift to my daughters and me.

By Dawn Demalas Meehan There's a certain debate about who has it harder, stay-at-home moms or working moms. "They" say there is no answer to this d...

I live a double life. In the morning, I roust my kids from bed and walk them to school, wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt. Then I return to my home office to conduct phone interviews for the articles I write for magazines, newspapers and online publications.