Since middle school, I have known that my career would be as an attorney. It has always been my dream to become an attorney. My dad was in the wrong place at the wrong time in Mexico and was imprisoned in Tijuana for months until my mom could gather enough money to pay his ransom for his release. From that day forward, I was determined to pursue a career that would protect my family and me from unjust treatment. Becoming an attorney would provide me with the legal knowledge and skills necessary to defend myself and others. In my twenties, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a mom; kids weren’t really on my radar. I was young, single, and focused on my career as an attorney, not being a mom.  While I loved children, my priorities were different at that stage of my life, and juggling being a mom with my career as an attorney wasn’t my focus. The idea of managing both a career and children posed several challenges in my mind. I understood that if I had children, being a mom would be a top priority in raising them. However, I also recognized that building a career as an attorney required a significant commitment of time and financial resources. Unsure of where my future path would lead, I decided to attend law school and follow my dream of becoming an attorney; I knew that I could figure out being a mom and family life later. 

After becoming an attorney, I fully embraced my career and dedicated all my energies into my law practice.  After graduating from law school, I was thrilled to obtain my first attorney position as In-house counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance.  My career as an attorney was filled with court appearances, depositions, and mediations; it was tedious at times, but being an attorney was also exhilarating and fulfilling.  I stayed on that attorney career path for seven years until my first child, my daughter, was born and I became a mom.  Initially, I planned to return to work after a couple of months and continue being a working mom, which I did for two years. Then my son was born, and as a mom, I didn’t anticipate how my heart would grow and expand, leading me to desire more time with my children than with my career. I was a mom of two with a high-pressure career as an attorney, and unexpectedly, something shifted inside me. I realized I didn’t want someone else raising my children; I wanted to fully embrace my role as a mom and nurture and guide them during their formative years. Being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t something I had considered much until I had two children; that is when my career as an attorney took a back seat. This is not an option that everyone has the opportunity to choose, and I feel blessed that I could make that choice. 

Contemplating stepping away from my career as an attorney was a difficult decision, but I was fortunate to have this option. After much reflection, I realized that investing in my children held far more value than my career as an attorney. This was a precious time in my children’s lives that I would never get back. I needed to let go of my ego and reassess my priorities. I embraced my new role as a full-time mom to my two wonderful children. I wanted to dedicate 100% of myself to being a mom; I had only one chance at it, so I approached my new full-time mom role with passion and commitment.

There was only one clear choice for me: to temporarily put my legal career on hold and make being a mom my full-time job. Initially, we had to adjust our lifestyle financially to compensate for my lost income, but it was worth the material things I gave up. Choosing to leave my career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom was bittersweet at first; walking away from what I had worked so hard for and was so dedicated to was not easy. I traded case files for bedtime stories, court appearances for parks and playdates. It was challenging and rewarding to shift from a paying career to one that offered no pay or career advancement, with benefits felt in the heart rather than the pocketbook. I went from stimulating, intellectual conversations to singing and playing with toddlers in the sand. It was a significant transition, but one that I do not regret. If faced with the same decision today, I would choose to be a full-time mom to my children all over again and walk away from my career as an attorney without hesitation. Being able to be a full-time mom and appreciate my most valuable gift and blessing in life—my children—far exceeds any paycheck from a career as an attorney.