On Being a Working Mom ....

There was a week in mid-April when I was at the pediatrician's office every day, with two very sick girls.  As I walked back into the doctor's office on Friday of that week, with Carolyn slung over my shoulder for another round of injectable antibiotics, the doctor, who has a good sense of humor and reminds me to too, asked me, "Do you still have a job?" 

I kind of laughed at the question and responded something like

"Yeah, I have tenure.  Thank god."

Then I thought seriously about the question, and it occurred to me that I would have probably lost my job if I had any other job this past winter.  I cannot count how many times over the past few months I have had to drop everything to pick up a child who had 104 fever and how many days of work I have missed, staying home with a child as they recovered from whatever ailment they had.  Upon more than a couple of times this semester, I walked into my classroom with an infant strapped to me in a sling, or a 4 year old laying on floor next to me while I lectured.  I camped out in my office with a sick child sleeping on the floor, just so I could attend a scheduled meeting.  On other occassions, I cancelled, oftentimes last minute, meetings with students and colleagues.  No one reprimanded me for coming and going so sporadically.  No one asked why my work was being done in fits and starts.  It is not because I have "tenure" ... but because I work with colleagues that are so understanding of the often unpredictable challenges that come along with being a parent.  I am so thankful to be able to work in such an environment.  (I should add that Steve too has made a lot of sacrifices over the past few months, including canceling trips and coming home early from trips so I could cover the few non-moveable appointments in my calendar ). As of last count, she has missed 43 partial or full days of school this year. Some of those were extended weekend trips, but most of them were on account of illness.

My work is fulfilling.  I enjoy teaching and doing research and being part of the academe.  I think it is important, not just for me, but also for our family.  However, I do not think I could ever be a working mom if I did not have a job that allowed me such flexibility, one that allowed me to juggle the demands of a young family. 

Plus, who wouldn't like this about their job?  A kickball game to celebrate another school year -- the professors against the grad students.