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母は何でも知っている
4人の子どもを育て、家業をやりくりし、自分の仕事もこなしていた筆者の母。
そうした活躍ができた秘けつは、公私のバランスを非常にうまく取っていたことにあった。
日本で子どもを生み、ビジネスを起こした筆者は、その母の教えを大切に守り、次代に伝えたいと思っている。
Mother knows best
Against tremendous personal odds, my mother graduated with multiple degrees from leading universities in England. Orphaned as a baby and subsequently raised by her grandmother in China during an era when girls were rarely given any opportunity for education, my mother dressed herself as a boy and accompanied her brother to school and sat under his desk so she could learn. It was not until she moved to Hong Kong where, aged 12, she began to receive formal education.
If one's mother has managed to overcome a difficult past to raise four "over-achieving" children, manage a family business, enjoy a professional career as a nurse (twice: she returned to her work aged 54) and now has a second career as a seniors' fitness volunteer (and is still happily married!), you can't help but feel slightly in awe. Oh, and through all of this, she is still the nicest person. She is quite simply one of the few women I know who achieved an enviable work/life balance. More importantly she has given me invaluable advice on how to find my own acceptable balance.
We both thrived in careers before having children so knew that we wanted to combine work with family. Of course, sacrifices had to be made: I knew that in the long run my pre-family professional role in regional finance for a major multi-national was not something I could commit to whilst raising a family.
As "mompreneurs" (a mother who starts a business), the most important ingredient was personal control over our time. The trade off: longer working hours and greater personal financial risk — but at the end came the much-needed flexibility. I spent years working for demanding bosses who made last-minute decisions that would inevitably have an impact on my personal life. Owning my own business gives me sufficient flexibility to make things work for us all.
We both used child care as support for our families. My son was fortunate enough to attend the equivalent of a government creche for working parents. The "hoikuen" offered flexible schedules and quality care at an affordable cost. With excellent child-to-staff ratios and outdoor facilities in a convenient location, I never once worried if my son was well looked after. This peace of mind allowed me to focus on "working smart" and I looked forward to spending quality time with my son at the end of each day.
The most important lesson that my mother has taught me is to think carefully about what is critical. I accept that I cannot be perfect in every aspect of my life but I know what is most important and I endeavor to try my best no matter what I choose to do. My attitudes to work and family have been shaped by my mother's experiences and ideas — hopefully so will future generations to come.
- Against 〜 odds
- 〜という困難をものともせず
- multiple degrees
- 複数の学位
- Orphaned as 〜
- 〜のときに孤児となり
- subsequently
- その後
- accompanied her brother to school
- 兄について学校へ行った
- over-achieving
- 人並み以上の成績を上げる頑張り屋の
- can't help but feel slightly in awe
- 若干の畏敬の念を抱かざるを得ない
- invaluable
- かけがえのない
- thrived in careers
- 仕事をうまくやっていた
- pre-family professional role
- 子どもが生まれる前にやっていた職務
- regional finance
- 担当地域の金融業
- major multi-national
- 大手の国際企業
- ingredient
- 要素
- personal control over our time
- 自分の時間を管理すること
- trade off
- 代償
- greater personal financial risk
- 経済面での個人のリスクが大きくなること
- came the much-needed flexibility
- のどから手が出るほど欲しかった、融通のきく状態を確保できた
- demanding
- 要求の多い
- last-minute
- どたん場の
- equivalent of 〜
- 〜に相当するもの
- creche
- 保育所
- affordable
- 手ごろな
- child-to-staff ratios
- 子ども1人に対するスタッフの割合
- working smart
- 効率的に働くこと
- lesson
- 教訓
- critical
- 重大な
- endeavor to 〜
- 一生懸命〜する
- hopefully so will future generations to come
- 未来の世代にとってもそうであってほしいと思う