At 38, it seems as though Drew Barrymore does have it all. She has her daughter, two businesses, and (presumerably) a huge wealth due to her decades of Hollywood acting work. But for her, it’s not all that simple.

“I can’t and I don’t,” Barrymore said at Lucky‘s Fashion and Beauty Blog Conference Thursday in Los Angeles on that subject. “It sucks when you’ve worked really hard for certain things and you have to give them up because you know that you’re going to miss out on your child’s upbringing, or you realize that your relationship has suffered.” Barrymore could, theoretically, take most jobs in the industry right now. She could even turn her hand to a different art as many actors do in their 30s/40s. But for Drew, that’s not an option right now. “I can’t direct right now because I would miss out on my daughter. It was heartbreaking to let it go, but it was a clear choice,” Barrymore explains. “I was raised in that generation of women can have it all, and I don’t think you can. I think some things fall off the table. The good news is, what does stay on the table becomes much more in focus and much more important.”

“The work-at-home component is brilliant,” adds Barrymore. “I was doing all my business meetings between 12 and 2 because that’s when my daughter was napping, and it helped tremendously!"

Drew BarrymoreBarrymore poses for the paps