Being a mother and working full time are two very challenging jobs, especially during a global pandemic. For lots of women, they have had to step away from their jobs and focus on caring for their children full time. Fortunately for my family, I have some amazing support with a fantastic in home daycare provider. That is a huge blessing and definitely understand my privilege. I wanted to take a minute and encourage you as mother if you are struggling and having to work and care for your family without additional support.

This year has really forced me to shift some of my own goals and parts of my career. I am thankful for the ability to start a new job at a well respected institution. For all my fellow parents who are working and looking back over the past year and feeling different - know that you are not alone and that is ok.

I have love creating content to put on my blog here with RD Anna. That has brought me a lot of joy over the years. Over the last year with moving and trying to adjust to a new job, having to cover a clinic that I didn’t anticipate and trying to find my new niche … I have kind of felt that some things just aren’t that important. I am embracing the fact that I am growing as a person and trying to find that balance of creating content that I am passionate about. So if I am taking the time to write something for my blog, you better believe that I feel strongly about it and want to share it with you all. In years past, I often felt a push to get new content out there every week to hit that deadline. Now I realize after 2020, that isn’t important to me + that doesn’t bring me joy. I much rather show up and provide information that I am excited about and hopefully you all appreciate that and still read things that I do post.

I had to share a couple of articles with you all about this toll working parents, especially Moms are under this last year: NPR, ABC News, National Geographic, and Washington Post.

It is crazy that I am writing this blog post about this next chapter in my career. It is kind of hard to believe that this time as come. I have worked at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis for about 6 years now and then I have owned and been doing my private practice job for just over 2 years now. It has been a good place for me. I have been able to do a large variety of projects and I have enjoyed being able to push myself. I have started my own business, seen clients outpatient, I have presented a national conference, published an article in a national publication, I have give talks for various infant feeding companies and I have had the chance to work with amazing physicians, practitioners, nurses and therapists. Moving from Layette to Indianapolis was exactly what I needed to do to sharpen my skills as a NICU dietitian and now I am excited to announce that I will be moving to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. I will continue to work in the NICU and I will be 1 of 5 NICU dietitians there. Their NICU is expanding and this expansion is opening in the next year. I am over the moon to be starting this job at one of the best children’s hospitals in the country.

So you are probably wondering what this means for me and my family? Well we are moving! We are leaving Indianapolis and moving to the Cincinnati area. This is a big transition, but so far things have come together beautifully and we are so excited for this next chapter. We have lots of new challenges ahead, putting together a new normal and fitting a move in there, but it will all be worth it! When someone offers you were dream job, you take it! You drop everything and you run towards that offer with everything you have!

I wanted to share that with you, because it can be scary. It can be intimidating to leave the familiar and go out into the unknown. I feel like most of us, prefer to stay put. Why would you want to leave something that is fine? Life is too short to live in a space of being “fine.” Lots of us want to stay in that safe bubble and not venture out where we don’t know what will happen or to a place that makes us feel uncomfortable. Well, I encourage you to never that your fear stand in your way. If you have a dream or a goal, then run towards that goal. Don’t let anything hold you back and you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to!

So stay tuned for more exciting happens with my job and RD Anna. This blog isn’t going anywhere. I am moving to Ohio and this website is coming with me. RD Anna might look at little different over the next year, but I will still share nutrition blog posts and other information here and on social media.