Poor Shakira! The judge ofThe Voice has only been a mom for four months, and already she's learning the lesson we all must face: you can't have it all. The new mom of little Milan has announced she's quitting her job on the popular singing competition, leaving room for Christina Aguilera to return to the post.
But XTina has nothing to do with the Latina sensation's departure from the judge's chair. That's all Milan's doing.
Said Shakira of her decision to leave The Voice:
I really enjoyed The Voice, but I also have a musical career and I'm also a mother now and my poor baby's so tired flying such long distances. He already has more miles than any pilot. So I think I have to give him a little break, and we'll see what happens in the future.
And so it goes. You try to make baby and work come together, and everything blows up in your face.
Been there. Have the sympathy to prove it.
I cut back to part-time when my daughter was born -- a 30-hour part-time that included just two days of daycare. I was trying to do as much as I could to spend time with her and still make enough money to put food on the table. And in some ways it was fabulous. She had adventures that most kids will never experience.
But in so many other ways, it just plain sucked. Ever been on the phone with a famous singer doing an interview, looked down, and realized that your baby has taken off her diaper and begun painting with ... well, you know ...? I have.
I didn't get a heckuva lot of sleep in those days -- even after my daughter started sleeping through the night. I was always hunched over my computer late into the night, catching up on work I couldn't possibly get done with her awake.
Looking back, I don't see any other options for my family. We were trying to make ends meet, and that was how we cobbled together a life.
But when moms like Shakira confess they can't make it work either, I have to admit I feel a little bit better about my own struggles. It wasn't just me! I wasn't a failure! I was just a normal working mom who couldn't do it all!
Pheww.
Load off.
It's not that I need a celebrity to validate how I feel, folks. But there's something to be said for looking at the lives of people who have a ton more money than we do, and more opportunities, and recognizing that if they can't do it perfectly, then no one can.
And there is no SHAME in that!
So Shakira couldn't do her dream job and give everything she wants to give to motherhood? Good for her for recognizing it, and deciding to prioritize her son.
Because that's the one thing we do have control over: deciding what (or who) we want to prioritize.
How do you make peace with the fact that there is no perfect balance?
Image via Shakira/Twitter