Born in Dallas and settled in Fort Worth, Jordann Rawls Reis serves as marketing manager for a forensics engineering firm. She says being a full-timer and a 24/7 mom wouldn’t be possible without her husband, Tate, who serves as national account manager for an international logistics company. Jordann’s momspiration comes from 8-month-old Ryker and their Shih Tzus, Elsie and Bronze.
4:45AM Alarm goes off and I snooze. Guilty! The second alarm goes off minutes later, and I count down from five before rolling out of bed. Literally.
5AM My first uniform of the day consists of my good yoga pants (the ones not covered in lint from being washed with towels) and a tank top.
5:05AM Straight to coffee—VitaCup, so I get my vitamins, too—and a quick runthrough of emails.
5:15AM After spending the weekend with girlfriends from college for the first time since Ryker was born, you would think today is the worst day to start a new workout plan. It probably is, but I’ve stopped and started regimens so many times that it really doesn’t
matter anymore. I head upstairs to squeeze in a 15-minute Betty Rocker YouTube video.
5:30AM I debate whether I should do second-day hair and skip the wash. The extra half-hour would be a huge stress reliever. I choose “happiness” and dry shampoo.
6:20AM I prep to wake Ryker, who logged a smidge over 10 hours and would sleep another two if I let him.
6:30AM Ryker is a happy bug after a night’s sleep. Before you hate me and before I precelebrate my ridiculously, awesome-sleeping baby, let the kid get through his teen years. If there’s one thing motherhood taught me early on it’s to never get too excited or too disappointed. Babies have a natural way of keeping us mama bears humble.
6:45AM Ryker feeds himself a bottle on the baby lounger while I answer emails. Once he’s done, he hops in his bouncer, giving me a couple more minutes to work. My best friend calls the bouncer the “circle of neglect,” and I think of her and smile to myself every time I put him in there.
7AM I load the car, and it only takes three trips, not including the baby carrier. Day care accepts him with open arms. Even at 8 months, it never gets easier to say goodbye. I do my part as a community investor in toll roads with an hour-long commute to the office, which I spend on work calls.
8:30AM We hold our monthly staff meeting and then I return calls and emails. I have less than an hour before I leave for a lunch appointment.
11AM I meet with clients—two attorneys who are also moms. It’s always uplifting when I meet with other working parents. I leave lunch recharged. I learned some things and we have the potential to do business with them in the future.
12:30PM Check in with Tate. We chat about our mornings and a video Ryker’s school posted of him laughing hysterically. It means everything to have him learning, growing and playing with friends.
2:30PM After a few errands, I’m back at the office to spend time with the business. For me, that’s making visits to our staff of experts and engineers. In a world full of technology that connects us, face-to-face time is critical for keeping people connected.
3:30PM Work to home is another hour commute, and if I break away before 3:45, I miss traffic while still logging my daily average of 150-plus miles. My car is often my main office, serving as a station for catching up with clients via phone or making calls to family and friends. It’s also a think tank for ideas, wish lists and first birthday party brainstorming.
4:30PM Once I get home, I change into play clothes and knock out daily chores, which today include emptying the dishwasher, doing laundry and picking up dog and baby toys.
5:30PM I have less than two hours to rally the family, put dinner on the table and feed Ryker before bed. Luckily for me, Tate takes care of dinner nearly all the time. He’s picked up chicken to grill with zucchini. I know how lucky I am.
6PM We take a short drive to the park and hop into the swings. Swinging with Ryker or napping with him in the glider are the best happy hours.
6:45PM Back at home, we dismantle and disperse in routine perfection—Tate handles the restocking of Ryker’s lunch-box and bottle bag for tomorrow, and I run the bath water.
7:15PM Bedtime is a team sport. We really enjoy hanging out with Ryker. He is the love of our lives. We dress him in “pjams” and huddle back in the living room to give him the last bottle of the day.
7:30PM I feed Ryker, and Tate fires up the grill. Two wine glasses are sitting on the counter, our reward in sight. We read a short book to Ryker, say our prayers, kiss and snuggle him and he goes to bed.
9PM Dinner is served, and while it’s late by most standards, it’s what works for us. It might not be perfect or pretty or popular, but if at the end of the day we are healthy and happy, we are doing a good job. When I was little, I would ask my mom what she wanted me to be when I grew up. For nearly all of my childhood, she would say, “I want you to be happy.” For all that I work for, I love my jobs. And, as it turns out, we are also happy.
