Work has been busy with month end and year end reports and gearing up for 2008. Combined with trying to fit in my Turbo Kickboxing classes again, I am not getting a chance to sit down and relax until at least 9pm. So that means all I really want to do at that point is veg out in front of the tv. While doing that a couple days ago, I watched the pilot episode and then a few days later, the second episode of the new ABC show, Cashmere Mafia. This show is from the same producers as Sex and the City and is somewhat reminiscent of the show, but with a different spin. It is about four best friends who went to business school together and now live and work in NYC as high female execs. It tries to answer the question, “can women have it all” and shows them on their journey to do that (with the obvious embellishments for mass audience appeal). One of my favorite scenes was when the “stay at home mom” takes one of the main characters kids on a playdate to a Build-a-Bear and create surprise her with a “working mommy bear”. The bear was even equipped with a cell phone and blue tooth headset and when you pushed her hand, the bear said “I can’t talk right now. I’m on a conference call”. The “working mom” thought it was a horrible gift, but I actually liked it. I am sure William would say my bear would have two cell phones and would say “I’m on-call again”. I sometimes wonder whether having a demanding career will affect my ability to be the mother I hope to be, but William reassures me that our kids will think that whatever happens in our house is “normal”. I know that we will do everything possible to make sure our kids know that they are our priority. Since we each come from households with working mothers and turning out as wonderfully as we did, I think we both realize that we will be just fine.
Several people seem to think it must have been horrible to move and change schools as much as I did as a kid. Personally, I can’t imagine how boring it must be to live in the same city your whole life. Adults have expectations of what childhood should be like, children don’t.
Children do think that their household is normal, no matter what. Children also adjust quickly to changes in their lives. It is the quality of time spent with your children that will make a difference in how they turn out. As long as they know you love them and they can count on you for love and support, they will turn out to be wonderful people. They listen to what you say and they also watch what you do. Action speaks louder than words. You are going to be fantstic parents.
I absolutely agree with all that you’ve said. I have lived in four states since graduating high school BECAUSE I lived in the same city for my entire childhood, and it was indeed boring!
I admire those that can stay home and be fulfilled with staying home. I think I realized early on that I wasn’t that woman. I think its the quality of the time you spend together, not the quantity. I want to afford a certain lifestyle and education to my little girl. I also want very much to show Kennedy that women can have “the 360 degree life” as she prioritizes it to be. I guess that’s why I’m so fascinated with the show (that, and I miss my girlfriends).