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If you’re like us, you’re running–not walking–to the theater this weekend to see The Best Man Holiday. One of the film’s stars, Nia Long, talked to mom.me about balancing filming, parenting duties and much-needed me time. Long is mother to two boys, Kez, 2 and Massai, 13 and has loved every moment of it.

On getting back to work after having her kids:

“This business will give you breaks even when you don’t want breaks, because after your next gig, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived.’ It’s like, ‘Oh my God, what’s my next job?’ And I think every actor feels that panic, so it wasn’t like I called my agent and said, ‘I’m having a baby, and I’m not coming back for two years.’ It was more like, ‘I’m having a baby,’ and they stopped calling me for a while, and then once the baby was born, and I was ready, the conversations gradually started to happen, and eventually you get a job.

“I admire the women who can have babies and jump right back to work. I don’t know how they do it. As a nursing mother, I couldn’t sit there and just pump all day. I needed to be close to my baby.”

On still having quality time with her oldest, even though he’s a teenager:

“My 13-year-old, every now and then, he’ll be cuddly with me. Sometimes you just have to tell them, ‘I miss snuggling with you.’ There are different ways that they show you that they need you, like him calling me today and crying and saying, ‘I really want you to help me study.'”

On raising adventurous eaters:

“You know, the only thing [Massai] doesn’t like is when his foods touch each other. I’m like, ‘Really? You’re still on that?’ He’ll try something once. Both of my kids are pretty good with vegetables. I make sure that, before I even put the meal on the table, that there’s a salad involved.

Sounds like Ms. Long has it all figured out–as much as any parent really can.

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