Marriage is like a gymnastics competition; full of complex balancing acts to master. One of the most challenging can be the fine line between living your passion, supporting your partner’s dreams, and somehow, still building a life together. For some couples this complicated balance is easy- they share a similar professional goal but for most of us this precarious balance requires endless adjustments and the occasional fall.

Whether your individual passion is training for a marathon, learning to knit, or becoming partner in your law firm- the challenge at home is the same… how do we have success in love and in life without sacrificing one for the other? It’s a common battle in the lives of so many and I think it is even harder as a wife and mother. Aside from the obvious maternal responsibilities, there is a larger social component to consider too. Few modern women want to be thought of as the quiet supporter behind the scenes of their partner’s success story and, yet, many of us still don’t know how to balance our roles as supporter of our husband’s personal or professional goals and still make time to have our own goals and keep our family and marriages happy and intact.

Diane Rehm is a syndicated public radio talk show host. She began her career in 1973 as a volunteer for WAMU’s The Home Show. Diane later became the host of Kaleidoscope, which was later renamed The Diane Rehm Show and has since become one of the region’s top news talk shows. Diane took time off her very busy schedule to talk to us about her amazing career.

It's another busy week and Maryam Banikarim, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of media giant Gannett Co., Inc. (Gannett) finds herself once again traveling to Washington, D.C. from New York. As the mother of two, she admits she "compartmentalizes" her family and children as she boards the plane and begins her focus on work. "I'm really good at compartmentalizing," shares Maryam, who travels often visiting many different Gannett sites and locations. "In fact, I'm great at it until my daughter calls me all weepy before the flight takes off . During those moments, compartmentalizing is not as easy."

Linda Abraham is the cofounder of comScore, a leading Internet marketing research company based in Virginia. Linda currently leads comScore’s Product Management team, managing and marketing of existing products, as well as overseeing the development of comScore’s next generation of products. Linda is an accomplished executive, a leader in her industry and a true modern woman.

Liz Murphy is the CEO of CampusWorks Inc., an information technology management firm that works exclusively with the higher education market. An accomplished businesswoman and leader, Liz was the Chief Client Officer of Datatel, Inc. before making her way to the top stop at CampusWorks. We spoke to Liz about education, her career and her work with the Lupus Foundation of America, where she is Chairman.

SUSANNAH HERRADA
I only Love You Because I Have To: The Fearless Woman' Guide to Men,
Motherhood, and Making Things Happen
www.deborahhuso.com

The blog I contribute to belongs to Deborah Huso, an author of numerous books and a nationally published journalist who writes on a variety of topics."

Why blog? "I like to connect with people. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with women about food, men, kids, and other women—and we all struggle with similar core issues. I think we need to put it all out there. Let people know they're not alone. Selfdeprecating humor seems to be the best way for all of us to see there's not really much that's different about our experiences of being a wife, mother, daughter and friend. We all wish for a diff erent life sometimes. Knowing we can all have these dark feelings on occasion helps us to deactivate them, fi nd the humor in it all and move on."

DANA BROWN RITTER
"Love Like This" Life Blog
www.lovelikethislife.com

This is my personal blog where I journalize and share the day-to-day challenges and adventures related to my husband's disability."

Beginnings: "I was actually in a pretty dark place when I began my blog. I was getting used to married life and I didn't realize it at the time but I was in the middle of the grief process. My husband was paralyzed in a gymnastics accident more than 15 years before we were married, but to me, I kept feeling like it had just happened. I would wake up and think, 'What? Seriously? You're still paralyzed?' Meanwhile, all the people in my life were telling me what an inspiration we were. I wanted to let everyone in on the real truth. Th at waking up at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning to get my quadriplegic husband up, stretched, washed, dressed, make breakfast, catch a bus and a train and hit Starbucks on my way to work and be there by 7:00 am is not easy! Opening up about the tough stuff made me feel better. It was free therapy."

GINA LINCICUM
"Moneywise Mom" Blog
www.moneywisemoms.com

"I blog about family finance & frugality."

Beginnings: "We moved to Northern Virginia from Los Angeles and I was surprised that the cost of living was similar. I found myself home with three kids and quickly had to figure out how to live off a very tight budget. I got online and taught myself how to use coupons to score free diapers at local drugstores. Then I started grocery couponing and other moneysaving strategies. I eventually decided to turn my findings into a blog."

Lessons learned since the fi rst blog post: "I didn't know that I could make an income working from home, around my kids, that didn't involve working evenings and weekends. Blogging has also led me to freelance writing contracts, partnerships with companies, and other income-earning opportunities I didn't know existed before I jumped into social media. I've basically created a job for myself that's completely diff erent than what I've done before I had my children. Luckily, blogging materialized during a time I had been unsure how I would return to the workforce aft er being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) for many years."

LIZ BUSCEMA
Life in the land of Liz
www.lifeinthelandofliz.wordpress.com

"I highlight details about my Christian, stay-at-home mom lifestyle which includes two beautiful kids, a hard-working hubby, one cat, and a lonely little fi sh in a giant tank. I'm also a three year breast cancer survivor so a few of my posts do focus on healthy living."

Beginnings: "I started blogging because I wanted to share recipes with friends and family. I would often post to Facebook about what I was having for dinner and someone would always asked for the recipe. I fi gured a blog would be a great place to publish my favorite recipes and share the stories of their origin. I share my cooking triumphs along with my disasters. "

LAURA HARDERS
Beltway Bargain Mom Blog
www.beltwaybargainmom.com
"The Beltway Bargain Mom Blog aims to keep you in the loop on DC-area deals!"

Beginnings: "I started out blogging from a desire to create my own special place on the web where I could share local finds and deals in the Northern Virginia area. I had helped my husband start up a blog for his small business and found myself wanting to create my own personal blog. I honestly thought only a handful of folks would ever read what I wrote, so at fi rst I didn’t even try to make my blog “pretty” or presentable. But as time went on, I began to invest much more of my time and eff ort. I wanted to see the blog grow and reach its highest potential."

Balancing blogging with family: "It can be very challenging to balance kids, family, homeschooling, consulting work and so on! I’m constantly trying to fi gure out how to achieve a strong balance. Sometimes, it means saying no to other commitments and focusing on my priorities. Honestly, you make time for things that matter, and my blog is something I’m proud of and work hard to maintain.

IRENE LANE
The Greenloons Blog
greenloons.com/blog/all-categories.html

"The Greenloons Blog provides ecotourism information, search and reservation capabilities to its customers."

Inspiration: I’ve had the good fortune to travel to 28 countries and each travel experience has brought me better understanding about the fragility of ecosystems and the signifi cance of heritage," shares Irene, who began the blog in December 2010 in an effort to mitigate the volume of misinformation about ecotourism. Being able to share these experiences with younger generations helps to raise globally responsible citizens. I wanted to present the facts about ecotourism and let consumers make more educated decisions. Popular blog topics: "My most popular articles are about common ecotourism pitfalls. Blog posts containing practical tips for distinguishing true eco-hotels and ecovacations as well as helpful eco-travel tips for festivals (i.e., Mardi Gras, Oktoberfest) receive the most traffic and attention."

JENNIFER FOLSOM
Momentum Resources Blog
www.mom-entum.blogspot.com

"My blog focuses on work-life fl exibility, workforce strategies (getting a fl exible job, how to return to the workforce aft er a gap for child-rearing, etc.) and my own life of running a very high growth business and being a mom to three very active, precocious boys which include identical twins and a four-1/2 year old.

Inspiration: Aft er 10 years of working motherhood, I discovered many ideas and strategies for how to balance both during that decade. I didn't want to hoard all information I had acquired in that time; on the contrary I wanted to share it with other working moms. We need to support one another as much as possible and it was from this premise that my blog was born.

 

 

Thuy Casey is the quintessential Modern Woman. Born in Vietnam, her family immigrated to the United States after the war. It was here that Thuy, like so many immigrant families, was taught that she could do anything that she set her mind to. After working as an executive at Price Waterhouse, Thuy married, had kids and began working on something entirely different: her body. We sit with Thuy and talk about her amazing transformation.

It’s not often many of us sit across someone who’s very presence humbles you beyond measure. By the same token, it’s not a frequent occurrence to meet someone whose tales of woe, unbearable challenges and victorious triumphs can bring you to your knees in sadness yet uplift your spirits to new heights of joy all at the same time.