full transcription below

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Hey, business-minded mama. I’m so grateful that you are here and that you are ready to grow enough, authentic community and scale your impact. Hi, I’m Stephanie. Parenza the voice behind business-minded mama podcast, local and small business advocate and entrepreneur. I’ve created this community because I want to help business-minded mamas. Like you build your dream business by finding your authentic community and gaining control and clarity on the financial aspects of your business by managing your own books. Now let’s tap into your own potential

Speaker 2 (00:43):

Long time. Um, I’m back. I want to first thank you all for giving me this time when the, you didn’t quite know you were. Um, but for those of you who are returning and listening again, thank you for letting me take this moment. Um, I do want to use today’s podcast to kind of talk about, uh, what’s been going on and also to give some, um, hopefully insightful advice to you. Other mamas and mom entrepreneurs out there who may also be struggling or have struggled with the same thing. So today’s episode is somewhat business related, but we’re kind of going to get personal here a little bit. And so I’m looking forward to this, and I hope that if any of you guys are going through this season with me, that you will feel comfortable enough to reach out to me, I would love to chat with you and just know that I am here.

Speaker 2 (01:41):

So, uh, first, uh, why I have been Mia is because I’ve been here these last few weeks been in a, a place of struggle, um, a lot of emotions, and it’s all surrounding the schooling for my kids. This is such a unique and difficult time as we face decisions we’ve never had to face. And for me, it really took a toll on my personal and business life because I was carrying it so heavy. And I was allowing myself to worry about what other people would think. And I was allowing myself to, uh, worry about others while, while not a bad thing to worry about others. I was bringing in the feelings of teachers and staff at the school and other parents into my decision. And I had to allow myself to not do that because in reality, we as parents know what is best for our children, and that is what I had to ultimately figure out, but it was honestly, probably a month long.

Speaker 2 (02:59):

August was rough. I am so thankful that September is here. August was rough. I August took a toll on my body. It took a toll on my health and my business and everything, my family life. And I just really struggled, figuring out what to do with my kids. And so just so you know, here, um, in our district, everything is virtual. There is no choice. Um, our district decided to go stricter than the County guidelines. So my elementary students were going to need to be home, which I respect anyone who wants that as their decision, but it was not what I felt was best for my kids. Even disregarding the fact that my husband and I both have jobs. I did not think that my kids would thrive in a virtual situation. And I am comfortable with our state in our County and where we’re at.

Speaker 2 (03:58):

And I’m comfortable with my kids doing the correct social distancing and wearing the masks and doing all the things they need to do. So I was comfortable enough to send them to school, but the choice for me to do that was taken away by our district. And so what that ultimately did is opened the idea of sending to a different school. In my case, a private school, a private Christian school that was following the County guidelines, which allowed all elementary students to be in class in person, unless we get to what is called the Blackstone, which means we essentially are all shutting down again. So this was a difficult decision for me in an emotional one because I loved our, our public school. I loved I, the teachers, I was excited for who they were going to have as teachers and who, uh, who their classmates were going to be.

Speaker 2 (04:58):

And they didn’t want to leave their friends and they didn’t want to leave the comfort of their school. But in reality, they were never going to be there, not at least in the foreseeable future and at best case, they were going to get two days at school. And that was it. And so what, what happened is that we really had to, um, take all of that in. And we had to discuss with her children and they were forced to make hard decisions, decisions. I don’t want my children at seven and nine to have to even think about they don’t understand it. I don’t even understand it. And so all of these things just really impacted me. I, uh, took it very personally. I took it very hard and I’m still emotional about it. And they actually finally started school yesterday, um, which has been a huge blessing.

Speaker 2 (05:50):

And I’m still harboring some of these feelings, but I’m still working on letting those go. And so I really just wanted to share that with you, because if you are a mom and you are in this situation right now, allow yourself to make the decision for your family because you are the only one that knows what is best for your kids, for your family, for yourself. And I’m hoping that if you’re in this season with me, that you can just let it go. Um, because while I said, I still am, I do still have emotions. I can’t even tell you how much less stressed and anxious I am from August 30th, which was Sunday to like yesterday. And today when they’re in school, things have changed so much in the last two days and I am so looking forward to this month and I hope and pray that we can do everything we need to, to keep the kids in school.

Speaker 2 (06:49):

The meaning of this podcast is not to debate whether virtual or in person is the right option. It’s not to debate politics. It’s not to debate about the virus at all. I merely wanted to let you know why I’ve been gone, what I’ve been going through, and this can pertain to any decision that you have to make as a mom. And so I don’t want you to think that I don’t realize that not everybody has the choice. I do realize that, and this was merely to let you all know that as moms, we make decisions and that we need to own those decisions and not feel bad about what we do. And so I hope you found this helpful, and I am excited to be back and I will be back on Thursday with another episode for you.

Speaker 1 (07:41):

Did you like what you heard on today’s podcast or do you know a business minded mama that could benefit from hearing this, take a screenshot and share best with your community? And don’t forget to give me a review, want to chat more? Find me on Facebook and the business minded mama Facebook page or on Instagram at misses and SIS or through my website, www dot business-minded moma.com.