The secret to being a working parent has never been about balance.

The secret to being a working parent has never been about balance. It's about juggling.

And this juggling act starts right at the beginning.

When you're preparing for parental leave, and just as importantly, planning your return, it’s easy to feel like you're juggling everything at once: handovers, deadlines, team dynamics, career momentum, doctor’s appointments, nursery prep, and your own emotions. And it can feel like everything matters equally.

That’s where Nora Roberts’ advice comes in. Years ago, in a Q&A, someone once asked the bestselling author how she balances writing and parenting. She replied with this wisdom:

The key to juggling is knowing which balls are plastic and which are glass.

If you drop a plastic ball, it bounces. If you drop a glass one, it shatters.

Importantly, Nora wasn’t talking about balancing just five big life buckets like family, work, or health. She was speaking to women juggling what felt like 55 individual balls. Each ball represents a small, specific responsibility like responding to client feedback, prepping the Q2 report, packing the diaper bag, sending thank-you notes, or remembering crazy hair day at school.

Some of those balls are glass. Some are plastic. And they don’t fall neatly into categories.

Sometimes a work task is the glass ball that can’t drop. Other times, the glass ball is personal, like being there for your baby’s first shots or giving yourself a real moment to breathe.

This framing is helpful as you prepare for leave.

Ask yourself: What are the glass balls I need to protect while I’m away? That might include key relationships, a major deal set to close, or a critical deliverable.

Then, as you plan your return, ask: What’s glass for me now? That could be a key project that helps rebuild confidence, setting a boundary to be able to do daycare dropoff or pickup, or simply protecting your time and capacity as you settle back in.

And here’s something worth remembering: you don’t have to juggle alone.

Our purpose with Mother Cover is to support you with a great parental leave coverage partner who doesn’t just keep the seat warm. They catch some of those balls for you, both glass and plastic.

They protect momentum on your work so you can focus on what matters most at home.

They leave a trail that makes your return smoother, so you’re not spending those early weeks back juggling twice as hard just to catch up.

You won’t catch all 55 balls. That’s not the goal. The goal is to be clear about which ones matter most, and to give yourself permission to let the others bounce.

Give yourself grace. Get clear on your priorities. And where you can, share the juggle.