By Dora McCarthy, Emerge Maine Class of 2013
This week I have battled what many women have to battle: guilt. We juggle our social, business, and family lives with many of the balls being in the air at the same time. We handle it and get on a steady rhythm, day in and day out. We feel empowered and confident, then someone throws us another ball and we feel off balance and overwhelmed.
In our social lives we have different friends who want to spend time with us. In business we are working on different projects. In family we have birthdays, weddings, anniversarys, PTO, bathtimes, bedtime stories, homework, and much more. We look at another woman and when she tells us what she is juggling we can’t believe how she does it all. We fail to recognize that we are juggling the same amount. To each of us OUR juggling act seems like nothing special. We NEED to recognize what we juggle to realize how amazing we all are.
During my first weekend with Emerge I battled feeling guilty because I was in Portland while my family was home doing laundry, going to football games, and having family get togethers. I wasn’t keeping up with the flying balls. My husband was doing my juggling and the guilt weighed on me. How could I be a good mother and wife if I was giving my balls to him and making him juggle them? Then I meet these wonderful women who are also juggling, taking time away from their own family, supporting each other. I came to a realization: I’ve never been juggling alone. The reason the balls stay in the air is because of my friends who make me laugh when I’m stressed; my coworkers who take on parts of a project to relieve the burden; and family who lift me up when I feel like I’m drowning.
The women of Emerge finally made me realize I need to stop focusing on the balls I’m juggling and notice the support team that is helping me to do it. Thank you ladies of Emerge class 2013.
Emerge America publishes periodic blog posts written by members of our Emerge programs across the United States. The content and copy are the views of the writer alone and reflect the array of women we train to seek elected office. Class members and alumnae are invited to submit blog posts to us at: contact@emergeamerica.org.