Day 878 of 1000
Night before last I was had a long discussion with a colleague at work who had just joined the company as a high level executive. After we had talked about business for a good while we started talking about our families. She has very accomplished children, similar in age to Kelly and Christian. I mentioned that Kelly had applied to several universities for a PhD program in Management, but probably wanted to be a stay at home mom after that.
I think the woman was a little bit offended. She admonished me that I should encourage her to do what she loves. I told her Kelly loves the idea of being a stay at home mom, but she would kind of like to finish a graduate degree first (or after she gets married but before she has kids). For awhile my colleague did not get it. She could not believe that someone might place a higher priority on her family than in a career. She told me how she had spent really big money on great nannies to take care of her kids while she was not there. She used the old canard of quality time being more important than the quantity of time one spends with their children.
All this made me thankful for Lorena who has been the gold standard of all role models for how a woman can set her priorities to maximize the impact of her life by caring for her children and her husband in the home. I am beyond grateful for all that she has done in that regard. I hope Kelly is able to acheive that level of contribution to her family and society. Anybody can be a company executive if they work hard and stay focused. It takes a lot more to be a stay at home mom.
Betty Blonde #44 – 09/16/2008
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