As I sat down at my desk to write this blog, I landed upon a “puff” baby snack. Rather than feeling frustration at the crumbs, I was surprised to find myself smiling- because I’m learning that balancing work and motherhood can be messy… but beautiful too.

Leading an ultra-high net worth wealth management business and sponsoring the launch of a private investment product, all with an infant on my lap, was not how I pictured my career. Given my degrees in the arts, a career at an investment management company didn’t even seem in the realm of possibility. So, the idea of doing it all while holding my baby would never have occurred to me- outside of a random fantasy about living a functional version of Diane Keaton’s Baby Boom boardroom scenes.

Yet, my arts background has made me comfortable with and invigorated by ambiguity—I find joy in the strategy needed to launch a business solution—as it provides me with the opportunity to create. So, when I got the beautiful surprise of my first child shortly after I’d been given one of my biggest career opportunities leading a heavily investment-focused project, I was excited… and then I panicked about whether I could balance my new normal.

Thankfully conversations with my bosses and mentors helped me realize that I could be a good mom and keep my career going. I’m still amazed that amidst the biggest assignment of my career, I was able to take a fully paid four-month maternity leave and return to pick my work up right where I left off.

Now in my mid-forties, I often find myself cuddling my infant daughter (and at times feeding her puff baby snacks, thus the crunch as I sat down today) during work meetings about Vanguard’s Family Office Wealth Management business, Family Legacy Services, and Private Equity …and I love it. The quirky mix warms my heart. I’m forever grateful to work for an organization that never denied me career opportunities, even as I balanced the joyous shock of my dream-come-true life event of becoming a mother. Vanguard has never wavered on its commitment to help me learn and grow, and to present awesome career opportunities as I lean in.

As a working mom, who cares passionately about her career and utterly adores (and never wants to miss a moment of) her daughter, Vanguard is the place I want to be. A life of baby puffs and big presentations works for me.

— Talli H.