~Jennie’s~

“Let’s talk about balance—because most of us are one missed coffee away from combusting.”

The room chuckles. It’s a casual breakout session called Work-Life Balance: Finding Joy Beyond Deadlines, and somehow I got dragged into it. There’s a circle of beanbags, and I sit awkwardly in mine. I keep adjusting the hem of my black maternity dress because it rides up over my thigh. My back already aches, and my ankles are starting to puff, but I breathe through it.

There’s a board in the center covered in colorful sticky notes. Each one lists a hobby—pottery, hiking, baking, gaming, painting…

“Jennie?” the warm-voiced HR rep says as she tilts...