Caring for My Career AND My Daughter

The following is not advice for others. It’s simply my own experiences. We all find our own way. This is about me finding mine.

This morning for the first time I am going to serve as a nutrition consultant for a corporate wellness event. I have been wanting to add corporate wellness to my job description for several years. Recently, as part of building my private practice in which I provide individual counseling and group seminars, I have been looking for corporate wellness opportunities.

The other special aspect of my introduction to corporate wellness is that I am doing it the day before my daughter turns seven weeks old.

On the one hand, I have a strong desire to be at home with my child, since my mother was a stay-at-home mom, and I very much value that. On the other hand, my greatest role model in life for my career is my father, may he rest in peace. He was a doctor, beloved by his patients in his private practice for more than 30 years, known for his unique empathy and kindness.

My father was also an avid health nut and runner. I became interested in these subjects growing up as well, and years later decided to pursue nutrition as my career.

So here I am, working in a field inspired by my father, in the setting—private practice—that my father modeled for me so expertly.

Along with being a way in which I bring glory to my father’s name and honor him in my heart, working as a dietitian/nutritionist brings me great satisfaction, since it is the realization of a vision I had since I was a kid—sharing my pepper slices and carrot sticks with classmates from elementary through high school, answering their nutrition questions in college. I wanted to attain the credentials to continue doing what I loved to do—help others lead healthier, happier lives. And thankfully, I have arrived at this goal.

So while I will miss my daughter when I work this event and others in the future, I am also excited to introduce her to all that my work as a nutritionist represents: self-actualization of setting goals and achieving them, going after what is meaningful in life and that which you are passionate about, and—perhaps the most important to me—bringing my father’s spirit to life, so my daughter can know him—even though he passed away years before her birth.