Tuesday, December 16, 2008

In which I admit my fear (it's not fancy)

http://www.blogher.com/balance-big-fat-lying-liar-lie-especially-working-parents

That article/blog post details, in a much more articulate way, something that I have been tossing around in my mind for the last, oh, 3 years or so.

How can we (women/mothers/wives) possibly have it all and do it well?

The odds seem so very stacked against us.

I suppose that men also deal with this to a certain extent, but my experience has been that they don't. Becoming husbands and parents is not on their minds when choosing career paths, deciding whether or not to go for that advanced degree, planning their families, etc.

Confession: I'm terrible at balance. Awful. Work comes first 99.9% of the time. I arrive early, stay late, pick up that trip for a meeting or presentation when no one else wants to... I skip the gym, don't plan dinner, let the house get dirty, don't call my family/friends when I should... I come last, after all those things are taken care of...

And I have help.

I have a wonderful, fabulous husband who does more than his fair share lately. He makes sure the trash and recycling is out, and that the bins come back in. He scrubs the bathroom and makes the bed, and picks up the house in general. He's there to let in the repair men or schedule my dental cleaning.

How on Earth will children (yes, more than one) fit into my poorly managed life, especially if I want to continue my professional life?

I'm afraid that one or the other will have to be sacrificed, not done to the level of perfection that they deserve, or not done at all.

It seems that I'm not alone.

2 comments:

Shannon Ragland Lake said...

I think this is the defining question of every woman's life. And no man gets it. Period.

ashley-cita said...

That's both comforting and not all at the same time.

I actually tried to explain this (not all of it, but a bit) to my brother-in-law and he just ::blink blink:: and stared at me. :-P