Name: Jenn Cummings
Location: Silverthorne, CO
Professional Industry: Conference Management Services/Meeting Specialists
Company: CONCENTRA Conference Management Services
Job Title: Vice President
WIXII-ISM™ FROM JENN:
“Don’t be so full of yourself! I really thought I’d be able to “figure it all out” much quicker than I have been able to. I’ve always been very organized but rearranging things like house chores and exercise time was incredibly difficult. I was very hard on myself for a while and I needed to just loosen up a bit, realize that it really IS very different post-baby, and that’s cool! Spending time with my daughter and enjoying her is now most important, with exercise (and other self-care activities) a close second, and everything else gets done as time permits.”
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Meet our featured Wixii™, Jenn Cummings. She is in her early 30s and mother to daughter, Aven who is 1 year old. She and her husband, Shawn, were married almost 8 years before they welcomed their child into the world. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Metropolitan State University of Denver in Hospitality, Meeting and Travel Administration. She currently is a Vice President at CONCENTRA-CMS with the responsibilities of site selection, budget development and management, registration management, program development, and membership management. Her husband is a firefighter.
As both a joint caregiver and joint breadwinner in the family, she devotes 30-40 per week to her career and would rate her work-life satisfaction level as 9 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest). She describes the policies of her workplace as very work-life friendly. In her mix, Jenn has a wonderful caregiver who watches her daughter 3-4 days per week and her husband watches her 1-2 days per week. Outside of work hours, Jenn handles 80% of the cooking, laundry and shopping for her family and more than half of the caregiving, cleaning and children’s activities.
To maintain her own well-being, Jenn tries to exercise and eat well each day, as well as catch up on sleep, connect with loved ones and friends weekly. On a monthly basis, she finds time for hobbies, pampering and prayer/meditation. Each year she hopes to travel. Jenn volunteers up to 10 hours a month with the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue.
WORK-LIFE MIX:
My current work-life mix is possible (manageable) because of…
We have a wonderful caregiver who watches Aven 3-4 days per week. My husband watches her 1-2 days per week and is great with her. I would not have had a child if I didn’t have amazing support from my husband, parents and others in our community.
In what ways did your work-life mix change after having children?
I used to work more long days and didn’t worry about when I would get household chores done. Now, I have had to become a lot more organized and have had to learn how to plan and prioritize tasks.
Growing-up, what was your vision of work and life?
I had no plans to have children so never really thought about how I’d balance a child and work. I did plan to work full time and be married.
What has surprised you most about juggling work and family?
How hard it was for me to work my exercise back into my new life. It was very high priority for me before kids and all but fell off the list for a while after.
Describe a current “day in your life” from waketime to bedtime:
6:30am: Wake up with Aven, change and dress her, she drinks bottle while I make my breakfast.
8:00am: We gather her stuff and head off to daycare.
8:30am: I come home and work (while doing laundry and dishes throughout the day).
12:00pm: Some days I am able to do an at-home workout or get to a quick gym session over lunch.
4:00pm: Pick up Aven from daycare and we either play at home or go for a walk with the dogs.
6:00pm: We eat dinner (I’m usually making ours while feeding her).
7:00pm: Bathe Aven and put her to bed.
7:30pm: Eat dinner ourselves, watch TV, and do chores.
9:30pm: Go to bed.
On a daily basis, I am energized/motivated/inspired by:
Learning how to manage all of the important things in my life. Currently we are working on our household budgeting, and evaluating our expenses and savings plans. We are working with a financial planner to get all of our details sorted out. This is important to us because we want to make sure we plan well for our future – retirement, college and wedding savings, future homes, etc.
On a daily basis, I am drained/frustrated by:
Aven’s crabbiness which only shows up sometimes (hanging on legs, nothing makes her happy, etc.) and my hubbie’s occasional lack of understanding.
What do you wish you could change about your current work-life mix?
Not much! Really, there’s nothing I would change. I am incredibly blessed to be able to set my own schedule 80% of the time so that I am able to work a job that I really enjoy and make time for my family as well.
What does “having it all” mean to you?
Doing all of the things I love, while raising a happy child and maintaining a happy and fun relationship with my husband and the rest of our families. We love to spend time with our dogs (walking in the forest, taking them with us to dog-friendly events around town), cycling in the summertime, skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, exercising daily, spending time with friends and family, and cooking.
Do you think that you “have it all”?
Damn close! Off hand, I really can’t think of anything that I need in order to make me any closer to having it all. I felt that way before I had my daughter, but, for me, that’s because I really did not understand how much fun and how rewarding it would be to have a child.
WIXII™ WISDOM:
Share your key(s) to maintaining order (“managing it all”) and any tools you highly recommend:
One of my biggest keys is learning to let a few things go. Sometimes laundry piles up or dishes pile up, but it’s okay. On the practical side, I have subscribed to “the fresh 20” meal planning site (www.thefresh20.com) which helps me make fresh, healthy food for all of us. Baby Center has also been a great resource for me.
WIXII’S™ LAST STAND:
Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your work-life mix?
Don’t be so full of yourself! I really thought I’d be able to “figure it all out” much quicker than I have been able to. I was very hard on myself for a while and I needed to just loosen up a bit, realize that it really IS very different post-baby, and that’s cool!
