Donna Summer Quotes

I'm a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn't miss it.

My priorities are my family and my job. I have little time for much else.

It's an amazing luxury to say I'm 31 years old and I'm gonna take a year off. That's pretty amazing.

Eventually I want to be a full-time mother who works occasionally - and being an actor you have that freedom.

I just decided that I would not put my professional life on hold to raise children. I know that sounds selfish to a lot of people and I don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing. But that's the way I'm doing it.

But the problem is that when I go around and speak on campuses, I still don't get young men standing up and saying, 'How can I combine career and family?'

Frankly, we actresses are so much in a hurry. We feel we have very few years to shine in our career, so we neglect our personal life. But for me, both aspects are equally important. I don't want to grow old and have regrets.

I love making movies, but I was ready to rationalize being only a mother if my career never got back on track.

That industry expects you to prove yourself over and over again. Do I stay doing this, or do I raise my daughter and live surrounded by people who love me? Wasn't even really a choice.

I don't want only a career.

Earlier, my priority was only work. I worked like a dog before I got married. After marriage, once you have a baby, time management is difficult. Your responsibilities change, your priorities change. And you have to concentrate on them if you have to work out your life. Your career is just a part of your life. For me, my family is my life.

I know I did the right thing by taking time off to raise my son. But it also came at a price. I turned down many opportunities over the years because I didn't want to leave him for long periods of time. And in Hollywood, as in any business, the calls stop coming when you don't answer.

I just decided to take some time off. I've been modeling since '93, '92, and that's a pretty long time. I'm a single mother and I chose to focus on her.

I said to myself, 'I've waited a long time in my life to have a child, and I'm missing it, I want to continue to have a career, but not this way.'

My mom always worked, and I certainly don't want to look back and think, 'Well, I don't have kids, but I'm glad I did that sitcom.'

I feel like I'm one of the many working mothers. And I only have one child. I know working mums who have three or four. It's definitely a challenge but it's a wonderful challenge to be able to do both.

One thing I always want to clear up was the notion that I 'took time off to have a baby.' A lot people leapt to that conclusion because becoming a parent happened to coincide with film roles tapering off.

I couldn't be where I am today if I had children. My focus would be on my children and home. And you can do it later in life.

I have made a choice to fully enjoy my kids and this particular season of my life. It's a very conscious, powerful decision. In some ways, it takes more guts to buck the financial rewards and adulation that come from a professional career to pursue something so culturally undervalued as at-home motherhood.

I knew that if I worked hard, I could have both - I could have a family, because that was important to me, and I could have a career.

I'm trying to have a family and a career.

I won't try and combine training and a family.

I took 18 months away to have my son, Joseph, and it was the biggest break I'd ever had in my working life of nearly 20 years.

I know that I won't succeed at everything, every day. Some days have to be solely about my daughter. Some days I really try to be a good wife. Other days, I can take a few hours for myself and just do nothing but really focus on work.

Before I had a child, I had goals. And I still have to accomplish those goals, but now that I have a child, I have more goals to accomplish. So I can't waste time.