Were They Really The "Good Old Days"?

This one's for all you working moms. Yes, there are many working dads as well, but I'm venturing back into ye olde 1950s for this post, when most men worked and most women stayed at home with their kids. No gender discrimination meant.

Recently, I read a newspaper article about a working mom who started a company that provides contract legal services. She has a part-time job and also manages her company, all while raising two beautiful young children. The article discussed how her company fills an important void because it enables professional women - and men - (lawyers, in this case) to use their professional skills in a way that allows them to earn money while, at the same time, it creates a better work life-balance for them. Work and time with your kids....and they said we couldn't have it all.

Can Working Moms Really Have It All?

I've written before about how difficult it can be to be a working parent. I'm a mom so that's my frame of reference, hence the title of this post. But I certainly recognize that there are an increasing number of dads who also have the challenge of balancing raising their kids and working long hours.

To some extent, this is an unavoidable conflict, and we who face it simply manage the best we can.

I'm new at this whole thing...

You Gotta Have Faith

Yes, it's a George Michael lyric. And someone else's lyric too, I'm sure. It's probably been restated over and over again in many inspirational publications, discussed in churches, you get my drift. But what I'm learning right about now is that it's one thing to remind yourself to have faith; it's quite another to actually feel and possess faith.

Taking a leap of faith can be very scary. I recently decided to do some contract legal work for a new company started by a friend, and I'm excited about that. I thought this would be a great way to supplement my income and help provide for my family, while still having the safety net of my salaried part-time job.

That was the plan, anyway, until my employer decided that I should go to contract status there too, effectively making me self-employed. In just one week.

I feel sort of like the baby bird who's pushed out of the nest just before she's really ready.

Photo from exploitsofmommyhood.blogspot.com