What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?

I was a working mother in the 80′,90’s and the noughties. I was also doing on-call, studying and caring at a distance for ailing parents.  If the traditional media of the time was to be believed I was actually,  ” having it all”.

Obviously it was attainable but only with the support of a husband, two wonderful child-minders. Brenda and Bev, and the most fabulous children.

” Having it all” was exhausting and, at the time, essential. It is what women had/have to do just to get to the glass ceiling, never mind crack the effing thing.

Life was all about spinning plates, lists and always having a plan B.

” Having it all” was actually just a phase and an informal training scheme for extreme multitasking. A hugely valuable skill that I treasure, but do I ever need to ” Have it all” again.

No Thank You

Not, ” having it all” is far better than ” having it all” but I would not have missed ” having it all” however hard it was at the time.