Back To Work
I don’t take maternity leave because I don’t want to...
Yes, with both of my children, I gave birth and days later went back to work.
I chose that.
It’s interesting how quickly people move to judgment when they hear that.
Instead of seeing a woman who knows what makes her thrive and feel alive, the assumption is that something must be off.
That I don’t understand how to rest. That I am doing motherhood incorrectly. That I am choosing work over motherhood.
The truth is I know myself so damn well.
I know what I want and what I need for my life.
When I thrive, my family thrives.
And the judgment and discomfort people feel about this decision isn’t about me. It’s about the one-size-fits-all box we keep putting around motherhood.
I’m a deep believer in doing life your own way.
Motherhood your own way. Work your own way. Partnership your own way.
Ambition your own way. Life your own way.
I have my own life playbook and it looks very different from someone else’s. I’m looking inward when I create it.
I work because I love to
I love building. I love thinking. I love coaching. I love creating.
I love being in motion with people who are building meaningful things.
Work is not something that pulls me away from my life. Work is one of the places I bring my character and my uniqueness to life. It’s a form of expression I refuse to let go of just because my roles in life have expanded.
It energizes me. It sharpens me. It connects me. It expands me. Returning to work after having a baby isn’t me choosing work over my family. It’s me staying connected to what makes me strong inside it.
There isn’t one correct response to motherhood
There’s an assumption that there’s one correct response to motherhood.
And the truth is, some women step away because they want to. Some step away because they have to. Some return quickly because they want to. Some return quickly because they have to. Every situation is different. And some women are navigating choices that aren’t really choices at all.
What matters is whether you’re living inside your own clarity or someone else’s expectations. I’m living inside mine.
My purpose lives across my whole life
Returning to work quickly isn’t about proving something. It’s about living something.
My purpose lives in my work and in my life. It has exploded. I feel in so much awe and happiness in my life, and my daughters, my partner, and my work all play a role in that.
Nothing is competing. Everything is contributing.
I remember my first call two days after I gave birth. My client said, “Megan, you’re crazy.” My response was, “I am actually grounded in my purpose.”
I want my daughters to see a woman who knows herself. A woman who listens to herself. A woman who builds a life that fits her uniqueness instead of shrinking herself to match expectations.
I want them to see that motherhood expands your identity. It doesn’t replace it. I want them to see joy in work. Joy in family. Joy in responsibility. Joy in building something meaningful.
I don’t want them growing up thinking they have to disappear in order to be a good mother.
Thriving looks different on everyone
Some women thrive in stillness after birth. Some women thrive in community. Some women thrive in routine. Some women thrive in movement. I thrive in movement.
My midwife, who I love, tried to slow me down at one point. My response in that moment was: “I am naming my daughter Kobi after THE KOBE BRYANT. I am living a different playbook.” She respected that and heard me.
Returning to work isn’t me pushing through exhaustion. It’s me staying connected to the parts of myself that make me strong, grounded, and alive. And that version of me is the best mother my kids get.
Doing motherhood your own way is the real work
Motherhood isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s not something you perform. I have nothing to prove to anyone and neither do you. It’s not something you do correctly by matching what everyone else is doing.
It’s something you choose from knowing yourself.
For me, returning to work quickly isn’t something I’m pushing through. It’s something I’m stepping into.
Because I know myself. Because I trust myself. Because my purpose lives across my whole life, not in just one role inside it.
Doing motherhood your own way isn’t selfish. It’s leadership.
I’m raising the next generation of women who will own themselves with conviction and be unshakeable in the face of judgment and discomfort when they choose differently.
So if you’re in motherhood, or stepping into it, my only unsolicited advice is this:
listen to yourself and do you.