Just finished having a very impromptu lunch with a friend and colleague. I was leaving a client meeting and thought I’d touch base with her. She was leaving a speaking engagement. We both hadn’t had lunch. We headed to a great local cafe with wifi. I arrived first and had an iced coffee while I went online to get some work done before she showed up.

We talked over lunch about a variety of topics including:

1. the status projects we are working on together;
2. new projects coming down the road;
3. our kids and daycare, discipline and mommy guilt;
4. local politics and gossip;
5. more ways we can work together.

Touching base like this with other women in my community is incredibly valuable. Besides the fact that I really like and respect this woman, I learn a lot from her about the inner workings of a lot of the local industries and political landscape. We can brainstorm ideas for various projects, and our skills are complimentary so we can support one another’s works.

And the fact that she is also a mom is so helpful to me because she just gets what I’m going through.

Earlier today, I met with a client who is also a mom. I felt like I could tell her that the reason I was running about 10 minutes late was that I had yet another morning struggle getting my 2-year-old out the door for daycare. She loves going but 9am isn’t really her best time every morning. Some mornings, she is bright, cheery and ready to run out the door. But on days like today, she is whiny, clingy and resistant to anything resembling getting dressed and leaving the house.

I’m not trying to use motherhood as an excuse for not being on time for a meeting, and I’m not saying that every networking lunch or business conversation has to eventually come around to motherhood and children, but being able to be open about my Mommy-ness in professional settings feels right to me.

I’m not just a consultant, an author, a speaker, a blogger, etc. etc. etc. I’m also a mom, a hat that has never really fit quite right on my head and still feels strange when I think about it too much. But being a mom is integrally me now. Leaving it out feels untrue to who I am and how I want to be known.

How separate do you keep the Mom side of your life, especially in professional settings?