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| English: An artist's depiction of the rat race in reference to the work and life balance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Successful working women keep track of important matters in
the news. However, we are not one-dimensional. Some of us also want to keep up
with celebrity gossip and fashion news too. Even in the era of the Internet
and 24 hour news shows and E!, it can be challenging to keep up with
everything.
Fortunately for you, I make it my job to keep up on articles
of interest to working moms and when I find notable ones, I share them with
you. Below are three that sparked my interest. They focus on the following topics: 1) the
compromises that working moms make, 2) the insecurities that working moms feel
when someone else is providing care for their children, 3) whether "leaning in" to your career and your life is really required for success.
Articles of Interest to Working Moms
This is an extraordinarily
honest piece about the compromises that working moms make to allow them to work
and mother without losing their minds. Some moms have great clothes, but lousy
hair because clothes can be bought online, but they can’t find a spare moment
to get their hair done. Some moms have an impeccable office and a home full of
dust. Some moms manage to do an adequate
job at both jobs—home and work—but still feel like a failure because they know
that they devoted a helluva lot more time at work before becoming a mom. In this piece, Beth Anne Balance shares the
compromises she makes as a working mom.
I think we can all relate…
All working moms know that reliable childcare is one of the keys to
success. However, having a nanny care
for your children is challenging.
Trusting someone else with your children requires an exercise of great
faith and the patience of Job. Also having a nanny care for your children can
ignite a certain schizophrenic personality that you never suspected existed. Your rational mind wants want the nanny to
become part of your family and love your children and you want your children to
love the nanny. However, your irrational
mind can become consumed by insecurity and the first time your child chooses
the nanny over you can be very upsetting.
I know, it happened to me. (The first time I recall it is when I went on a business trip and my daughter slapped me. Talk about upsetting!) Apparently, Mariah Carey is incredibly threatened by her nannies and has
gone through a few of them….
This piece is the response to Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In: Women, Work,
and the Will to Lead”. The title bothers
me a bit because “Why I hate Sheryl Sandberg” seems a bit like “Mean Girls”
gone wild. Still, I understand the
writer’s point. Life is a journey that
should be enjoyed not endured or rushed through. One has to ask themselves the price of
leaning in to all aspect of one’s life at full speed all of the time. If
stopping to smell the roses or the Play Doh is something that you value, you
may have to reconsider Sanderg’s advice.
Like the author you may choose to recline instead of leaning in. Or like
me, you may choose to approach like the cha-cha and alternate your posture and
speed depending on the music…
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