To think I can still have a career?

[NotJoiningIn]

After 7 months of maternity leave I am returning to work full time. I have to work full time as the main bread winner for our family, but I also am looking forward to returning to work and resuming my career. During a keeping in touch day today, 3 different conversations revealed that people expect me to just remain at my current job level from now on, in the words of one "all that leadership stuff won't be for you now". But I love my job and have long term career goals to meet. I realise they may take longer now that I have a family to look after as well, but AIBU to think I can still have a career and not just a job? Or am I being totally unrealistic?

"But if I do the remembering he will definitely do the implementing"

Ooh, you see, I think the main job is the remembering. That's what's stressful. The implementing is relatively small by comparison. So I'd say, if DH is truly going to be the "primary parent" in terms of parental tasks, you would need to have DH be primarily responsible for the remembering as well as the implementing. No reason he shouldn't be perfectly capable of doing this if he knows it's down to him. In fact if nursery have him down as the primary contact, he would be the one who gets the note about World Book Day etc, so he would be best placed to do the remembering.