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Thursday, January 13, 2005

The road obscured

This blog was started to see if I could still type after being out of work for two years, to buff my writing skills, and to unite women as they transition from career to motherhood, a journey that often leaves women feeling displaced and confused along the way.

The idea was the developed out of the frustrations of many women that I have met since I have been home with my son. As Scolding Friend, a.k.a. Peppahminx, pointed out, I did not quit a full-time job because I did not have the option to reduce my workload. I was in a career shift, attempting to take on broadcast journalism after being dissatisfied with where my career was headed as the managing producer of a popular web site. For me, there was no job to go back to.

Just because I am writing about the internal struggle of women I know, not exactly as I experienced things, does not invalidate the premise: It is unfortunate that in 2005, women rarely have a choice beyond a) working full time, and b) not working, after they have a baby.

This blog is not an attempt to pit working women against at-home moms. It is not about whether you can afford to stay home or whether your family needs two incomes to live in the Bay Area or anywhere else. (I know of a family who moved to a less expensive part of the country because having a parent at home with their child was more important than where they lived.)

I am in control of my destiny and I am doing what I want. I am parenting, writing, and actively pursuing freelance work. And hopefully I will have some soon since I just heard back from a local magazine I've been trying to work for (!!).

So, to my dear Scolding Friend: Just because you do not relate to what at-home moms are struggling with does not mean it is all in our heads. We are exchaging ideas, encouraging each other down new roads, and supporting each other's decisions as we try to fill that hole we can not always put our finger on. That does not make us bad or spoiled or mopy or whiny; it makes us human.

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