Juggling act: Loving mum of twins shows people can have it all

Women were once forced to choose between pursuing a successful career or starting a family, but one mum is proof you can now do both.

House Estate Agents principals Tye and Emmy Thies juggle running the business and family life with their twin daughters Elora (left) and Quinn, Friday, October 8, 2021. Picture: Kevin Farmer

BALANCE is something we all strive to achieve, but what happens when a successful career woman has to combine her world with motherhood for the first time … and with twins?

When House Estate Agents principal Emmy Thies and her husband Tye opened their real estate business in Toowoomba in 2010, the ambitious couple were focused solely on their careers.

But when the pair hit their 30s, they decided they wanted to be parents and were pleasantly surprised when they discovered they were pregnant with twin girls.

House Estate Agents principal Emmy Thies juggles running the business and family life with her twin daughters Quinn (left) and Elora, Friday, October 8, 2021. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Ms Thies admits navigating her way through the world of motherhood has been a wild ride, but the best one nonetheless.

“The struggle is real for women as we have this emotional burden that we carry because as mothers, we are so connected to our children,” Ms Thies said.

“I was blessed because the girls were always so transferable and in the early days, they would sleep on beds in the back of the office while someone looked after them and I would go to see clients or work and then I’d come back to look after them and we’d do a switch.”

House Estate Agents principal Emmy Thies juggles running the business and family life with her twin daughters Elora (left) and Quinn, Friday, October 8, 2021. Picture: Kevin Farmer

But the transition period didn’t come without its challenges for the mum-of-two.

When the successful real estate agent gave birth to her twin girls Quinn and Elora, she went from making an impressive portfolio of 120 sales, to juggling motherhood and reducing her workload by more than half.

But Ms Thies said the biggest adjustment was learning to let go of the desire to be perfect.

“I’ve worked out the best way to make sure I’m performing in both arenas is that when I’m at work, I’m at work fully and when I’m with the kids, I’m with the kids fully,” Ms Thies said.

“(Businessman Sundar Pichai) has this philosophy that I’ve adopted where in life we all have five balls – work, family, health, friends and spirit.

“One of those balls are rubber and the rest are glass … I treat work as rubber because it always bounces back and yes, it’s part of who we are and it’s joyous, but those other aspects don’t always bounce back.”

House Estate Agents principals Tye and Emmy Thies juggle running the business and family life with their twin daughters Elora (left) and Quinn, Friday, October 8, 2021. Picture: Kevin Farmer

After merging their business in 2015 and moving to Moffat Beach temporarily, the couple missed home and returned to the garden city in 2019, to reopen their business.

Now with the twins set to turn four-years-old and headed for kindergarten, Ms Thies is returning to her principal role full-time and has already started to rebuild her portfolio.

And while the loving mum said she loved her job and was excited to be back, motherhood had taught her to implement healthy boundaries, be confident in her decision-making and to always prioritise her quality of life.

Ms Thies said it had also helped seeing how understanding and supportive clients had been over the years of the working mother.

Describing her girls as their own pack and a force to be reckoned with in the future, Ms Thies said Quinn was powerful and compassionate, while Elora took the opposite approach, with a gentle exterior and strong interior.

House Estate Agents is at 353 Ruthven St.