Mum guilt vs. career ambition — making peace with both

There's a particular flavour of mum guilt that hits at about 4pm on a good work day. You've had a brilliant meeting, you're actually enjoying the project, and then — bang — guilt for enjoying being away.

The reverse happens too. A slow afternoon at the park, and suddenly I'm thinking about an email I haven't sent.

What I've landed on

• Both are real and neither is the truth. They're just feelings, taking turns.
• Ambition isn't a betrayal. My kid having a mum with her own thing is, I genuinely believe, a good thing.
• Presence beats hours. Twenty proper minutes after work > two distracted hours on my phone.

The line I keep coming back to

You can want your career and want your family. The trick isn't balancing them perfectly — it's stopping the internal court case where one of them has to be guilty.

If you're reading this in your work toilets having a quiet wobble — hi. You're doing great. Back to it.