I’m having a baby!!!!!!
Renee Diaz
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I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for mothers. I love my mom more than anything, and I am grateful for her ferocious protectiveness over myself and my brothers, her loyalty, and her ability to always put her children first. I have been lucky enough to employ someone, Jessica Larsen, for four years who has two children. Jessica worked until the day she gave birth with her second child. Throughout her entire pregnancy, I do not remember her complaining. She always showed up to work and did whatever she had to do, oftentimes working long hours.
The respect I have for mothers has grown exponentially since I became pregnant myself. A self-proclaimed workaholic, I started noticing how fatigued I was in early April. This was extremely unlike me. Although being a business owner always comes with a little tiredness, this was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. About a week later, my husband and I found out we were going to have our first child. We had been trying for a while and were more than elated. We had our share of scares in the beginning, all of which I confided in my employees, who were more than willing to be there for our family during a scary time. It was amazing to see how excited my employees were for my husband and me. It has created a special time for us, and it is always reassuring to know people truly are happy for you.
But this first trimester has been tough to work through. Every day for weeks, I woke up feeling like I was hit with a ton of bricks. The fatigue was out of this world. I was either dealing with insomnia or sleeping so much I was unable to get out of bed to be at work on time. I looked and felt awful. I was constantly hungry but could not eat. I was nauseous all day, and oftentimes threw up. As soon as 1 p.m. came around, I would crawl into bed at home. I only had a select number of hours during the day I could power through. Talking to me was like talking to a zombie. With my new event planning business, we were booked six weekends in a row, sometimes with two events over a single weekend. I wasn’t supposed to lift anything heavy, and it started to make me feel as if I was a burden to those around me. I’m used to grunt work, long hours, going without food. I have worked myself sick before. But, I have to remember it is no longer just me I am caring for and worrying about. I have a little one on the way. The little one I have been waiting so patiently for.
I have realized throughout this time how lucky I was to own my own business, with the flexibility to be able to go home early if needed. My job is never over, but I do have the ability to work from home if necessary. But what about the women without this option? They have to wake up and just do it. I often think of when my employee Jessica was pregnant, when she worked throughout everything I described above, and never complained. I honestly cannot remember a single day Jessica expressed feeling the way I felt. I remember being curious about her pregnancy. I had heard of the horror stories from others, but she always made it seem flawless and easy. Even now, Jessica has two children at home to care for. She adjusted her schedule to make it work around their daycare schedules so she could work full time. I have so much admiration for her and for all moms who sacrifice. It’s hard to stay positive and focused when you literally do not recognize yourself or haven’t felt well in weeks.
As a boss, I take pride in being able to experience many different life situations with my employees. Some of my longtime employees have just graduated high school and are headed off to start the next chapter of their lives. I have had employees move on from this job, craving a fresh start. I’ve seen employees get married, buy homes, and make important decisions for their futures. But nothing beats the feeling of truly being able to be in the shoes of a mother. This is an experience I will carry with me for life and will always have a special place in my heart for anyone who becomes a mother, or father, while working for me. After a tough first trimester, I never realized how strong you have to be, and this is just the beginning!
Renee Diaz is the owner of The Queen's Cups bakery in Worcester.
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