nobody gets this job with training

Alana Stern

Sep 8

2 min read

I finally sat down to plan Rosh Hashana. Just the four meals. Minimum ten people at each one.

Who’s coming to which meal. Who doesn’t eat red meat or eggs. What to cook, delegate, order in.

Halfway through, it dawned on me. This

was not just “cooking”. This was a web of logistics for more than forty people, on top of a full week of clients, and the regular running of the house.

You run the whole show every week, without anyone ever having handed you a job description. You run things while your mother calls twice a day, or in between your job and pick-up, or seven months pregnant.

Then there’s Yom Tov.

When it’s over, you’ll say you barely pulled it off. You’ll remember what went wrong, the dish you forgot to serve, the all-nighter you pulled erev chag, the yelling you did right after davening.

And you’ll forget to give yourself a pat on the back.

This week a client realized she was the CEO of her home, but with no training and little experience. Taking that into account, she’s doing a more than stellar job.

So before Rosh Hashana, I invite you to do a different kind of cheshbon hanefesh. Look at all you’re actually running:

A pregnancy, a baby who is up at night, or a teenager who only talks to you at 11pm. Or all of the above.

Your hormones.

Your husband. Your mother. Your ADHD kids.

And the chesed committee meals you signed up for.

And maybe you’re even managing to hold down a job.

You’re not a woman who can’t get organized. You’re running a corporation without training... and nobody has told you how magnificent you are, until now.