Startup Day 332

A couple days ago, parents across the US felt the gut punch of another school shooting. It reminded me of December 14, 2013 when I was pregnant with my eldest child and stood watching the news. I thought, "I don't want to bring a child into this world." My now 8 year old asked if the teachers in Uvalde had the student do their lockdown routine. This is the world I've brought two children into -- elementary students practice lockdown drills, sometimes those safeguards aren't enough, parents fear for their kids' safety at school, parents struggle to communicate this travesty to their kids.

And just how does this affect my startup? Well, my productivity this week has tanked as my heart has been ripped asunder. We're encouraged to bring our whole selves to work. That's especially important to me as an entrepreneur working with families. That makes weeks like these all the more painful. As people cry out about rights and protections, I want to curl up into a ball and cry, just cry. Like any other professional, the pain in this world affects me, too. Sometimes that means I slow down and that's OK.

Startup Day 325

Today I'm writing to remind myself of what female founders are capable of. I'm writing something I can revisit in moments of doubt and imposter's syndrome. Near the end of this day, I lamented the overdue social media post, the pending follow-ups to prospects, the presentation for a startup accelerator that won't write itself. 

But then I paused that voice in my head. Yesterday, an advisor described the vision in my head of supporting ALL parents and primary caregivers of children with disabilities, especially those most marginalized. She wants to help me create that system change. Today, I had two amazing conversations -- one person wanting to introduce me to a major company to pitch a pilot of Empowered Together with its employees and one agency wanting me to present to its partner orgs about ableism and intersectionality. 

Those are big wins right now. They also come against a backdrop of juggling five medical appointments across two days. As a female founder, I "got to" participate in two breast imaging appointments today, something my male counterparts don't have to worry about. As a mom, I "got to" take my two kids to three different appointments. I'm grateful that I have the capabilities to manage all that. And taking stock of the good that came amidst juggling life's necessities reminds me that we female founders should never be underestimated because we get *&^% done!