My nanny called in sick on a Tuesday. For the first time, I was excited instead of panicked.

The author left her PR career to be more present with her family.

Courtesy of the author My old PR career required me to be available well beyond normal work hours.

I left agency life because I wanted more control over my schedule.

Now I can step away from work without feeling like everything will collapse.

My daughter's nanny called in sick .

I had my day all planned and mapped out.

A full to-do list for that day, but the list did not survive to even 8 a.m.

Being in the PR industry , I am very familiar with this feeling.

However, instead of feeling a sense of dread about how I would get it all done, I felt excited.

Excited that I got to spend time with my daughter instead of being behind a computer.

So I put my daughter in the car, drove into town, and left my computer at home .

Working in PR means you are always reachable I came up in public relations, and a prerequisite for the job is being reachable.

You have your agency touch base on Monday morning and leave with a plan for the week.

By Tuesday, the plan is usually gone because a client has news, a problem, or a new opportunity lands on your desk, and everything else gets pushed.