Getting to know Jenna
Interior Designer, mother to 4, business owner. I am the co-owner of Plum Home + Plum Design

FW: Give us a glimpse into your career and how it looked in the years leading up to the pandemic?

Jenna: For more than a decade I have worked as an interior designer and for the last 9 years I have been the co-owner of Plum Home and Plum Design. Plum Home is a retail store and Plum Design is a residential and commercial design firm.

FW: Can you summarize what your journey into parenthood looked like ?

Jenna: I became a mother to our first son, Harrison, 7 years ago. Asher joined a short 18 months later, followed by Nell and most recently Oren. 4 babies in 7 years, it has been a wild ride! Before I had Harrison I didn’t have plans for a big family but it has brought me so much joy, I can’t imagine any other family.

FW: What does your current work/life situation look like balancing parenthood and your career?

Jenna: I was 32 weeks pregnant with my 4th when the pandemic hit. I was juggling mothering my 3 at home, my husband was working and I was trying to figure out how to run my businesses during a pandemic. I won’t lie, it was brutal. Running my own business means that maternity leave is a foreign concept but I hadn’t planned on having a newborn and my other three at home while I worked. I don’t think there is any shame in saying I struggled, my stress levels were high, I longed for help.

Parenting through the pandemic

FW: What does a typical day for you look like right now?

Jenna: I think the best part of my life is that I don’t have a typical day. My work life is a mix of design work, site visits, client meetings and buying for the store. My home life starts early and it is absolute chaos as we get 4 kids dressed and out the door. I try and get home early, just after school so that I can spend time with them, make dinner and then the 2 hours of bed time chaos. I work in the evenings when the kids go to bed so that I have the flexibility to be home as much as I can.

FW: What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve gotten as a working parent?

Jenna: Best advice: be kind to yourself, if your children feel loved you are doing it right. I am hard on myself so this was good advice. Worst advice: Relax. Telling me to relax is not constructive and is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

FW: How have you managed balancing your workload in a time when childcare has been sometimes unavailable or sporadic?

Jenna: If I am being honest, balance has not been something I have achieved in a while. Some days work wins, most days my family wins. To get it all done I have to work at night these days.

FW: What supports and/or resources have made it possible for you to take on both career and child-rearing responsibilities?

Jenna: My family has made the last 14 months possible. When Oren was first born my husband was still working, my parents really supported me as much as they could. When my husbands paternity leave ended my dad stepped in to watch my youngest ones a few days a week while I worked.

FW: What have been some of the biggest challenges or changes to your work life since the start of the pandemic?

Jenna: The pandemic dramatically changed my work life. At Plum Design we initially had job sites shut down. Once they reopened, how they operated had to change. Restrictions don’t recommend in person meetings so we have not been meeting with clients in person unless we are in the construction phase. Not all clients were receptive to this. 

At Plum Home we were closed for months during the first lockdown, the second lockdown came during what is our busiest season of the year, Christmas. Now we are entering the third lockdown, customers have been told to stay home and we are limited to how many we can have in store. It is a tough balance between doing our part to keep Albertans safe and keeping our business alive.

FW: Has the pandemic impacted how you parent your child/ren?

Jenna: I really feel for my kids, they have been robbed of so much during this pandemic. School, time with their friends, so many firsts. It has impacted them all differently and I have to parent them differently. What they all seem to need is for me to have more patience, more time, more love.

FW: How have the demands of parenthood impacted your career?

Jenna: I have been struggling with this more than ever lately. Having children, having a big family is not something I have ever regretted but it has meant that the pandemic has had a real impact on my career. Without child care I had no choice but to say no to some opportunities or to take a step back from things I was trying to do. My family needs me and they will always take priority but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel sad about it.

FW: Have you formed a personal motto or philosophy surrounding your recent experiences?

Jenna: Two things:

I can do everything but I can’t do everything

This has never been more true than during the pandemic. It reminded me that when I was trying to do too much and felt like I was failing. 

Comparison is the thief of joy

It is so easy to scroll through instagram and compare your life to what you think someone else’s looks like. In my experience doing this will rob you of joy. I try and focus on my own life, my own work.

FW: Has the pandemic positively impacted your career/life in any way?

Jenna: Yes. Before the pandemic I would drop my kids off at 8 am and pick them up at 5/5:30. Usually while on a work call. I was exhausted and I had almost nothing left by then end of the day. I was on a hamster wheel and I couldn’t get off. The pandemic brought that to an end. It made me reflect on what I was doing and I decided I would never go back to that. 

Since then I have adjusted my work schedule and I don’t have a single regret!

FW: If you had to pick, what would be the biggest thing parenting through the pandemic has changed your perspective on?

Jenna: It has reminded me of how strong I am AND that even though I may be able to handle a lot, that doesn’t mean I should. I have had to readjust my perspective on how much I should work and what I wanted more of in my life.

Check out the Parenthood Collection at The Branded Good!