Being a scientist is much more than just a job or even a career, it is who I am.

As a woman, being a mom is also part of who I am.

I was only a year into my first faculty appointment when I had my first child. I did the typical scientist mom thing—I stayed home for about a month and then I brought my infant son in for my lab meetings!

On one tough day after he started at daycare, I got a call from my graduate school mentor. He was calling to check in and see how I was doing now that I was “back at work” (but of course I had never really left).

That day, I wasn’t doing very well, and on the verge of tears I told him that I just didn’t know if I could be a scientist and a mom. He paused for a second and then said; “Of course you can, because the work you do is so important, and someday your son is going to be so proud of his mom and what you have accomplished.”

I can’t describe how important those words were to me, they truly changed my whole perspective.

Time passed, I had my daughter, and every time I thought I couldn’t be both a scientist and a mom I remembered those words.

Over the years there were countless times that I was sure he was wrong. I thought that my kids didn’t know or care much about what I did, only that I wasn’t in their classroom that day or at the game after school.

It took almost 15 years, but I’ll also never forget the first time a neighbor said to me; “You should hear how your kids talk about you…..they are so proud of what you do.” Now that they are grown, I know that they are as proud of their mom as I am of them.

I share this because I want all young scientist moms out there to remember every day that the work they do is so important and that their kids will grow up to be very proud of them…eventually.