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#WorkingMom Holiday Office Memory
If you’ve followed my posts this year, you know I’ve shared a few laughs (and lessons) about the roles I’ve taken on as a working mom—some with more success than others. From being a "below average" room parent to a questionable driving instructor, there’s never a dull moment balancing work and family.
This holiday season, I’m reminded of one of my favorite—and most ridiculous—working mom moments.
It’s December 2000. My kids are just old enough to be sneaky about the holidays. With three boys, two holidays, and nine gift-giving opportunities (Christmas plus eight nights of Hanukkah), the only way to manage the chaos was with a meticulous spreadsheet to keep things fair. Oh, and did I mention Timothy’s New Year’s Eve birthday? Festive, sure. Exhausting, definitely.
To avoid snooping and simplify logistics, I had all the gifts shipped to my office at Honeywell. Thank goodness shopping by mail was already a thing! The plan was simple: Charlie and I would wrap everything in my office one evening while the kids were in daycare, then hide it all under a tarp in the garage.
One package, however, complicated things—the
Little Tikes kitchen. When it arrived, the mailroom kindly offered to store it until I could swing by the loading dock. Lifesavers!
But that holiday season was anything but ordinary at
Honeywell. We were in the thick of being acquired by
GE (spoiler: the European Union later nixed the deal). One morning, I got a frantic call from the mailroom: “Can you come move the refrigerator as soon as possible?” Jack Welch—yes, THE Jack Welch—was touring the building that day. Apparently, explaining why there was a “kitchen” in the mailroom wasn’t high on their to-do list.
To think my Little Tikes kitchen could’ve derailed the GE deal! Back then, it might not have gone over well—but today, it’s a story I love to share.
At
HR Acuity, we embrace these intersections of work and family. They’re a reminder that our lives outside the office make us who we are inside it.
What about you? Do you have a funny or memorable story about your kids and your workplace? Share it in the comments—I’d love to hear!