Category Archives: Happiness
Back To School = Back to Stress
A few weeks ago I sheepishly approached my boss to let her know that I would need to take a bunch of mornings and afternoons off this week and next for back to school activities. Between “phase in” (the gradual … Continue reading
Changing the Corporate Culture: Mothers Can’t Do It Alone
With reports of more men than women facing lay-offs, there has been optimism from the work life community about the workplace changing to better meet the needs of parents, especially mothers. An article in The New York Times last week … Continue reading
The Real Story About Power and Homemaking
The New York Times‘ Modern Love column had an interesting piece this weekend about what it means to be a “wife,” which in this case really means “housewife.” Author Sara Sarasohn writes about her partner’s decision to stay home, and … Continue reading
Passion, Fulfillment and Pay Equity
It’s taken me a while to get to Meg Wolitzer’s The Ten-Year Nap. I’ve had the sense that I might be bored and annoyed with the book’s over-privileged stay-at-home mother characters, so I procrastinated. I was pleasantly surprised to find … Continue reading
Judgement of the Moms
On the heels of Louise Chunn’s piece about her life as a working mother comes two more personal essays in a similar vein, one from Katie Allison Granju in Babble, and a second mother-daughter editorial from Anne and Lesley Shooter … Continue reading
Filed under Childcare, Happiness, Management, News, Politics
Hurting the Collective by Opting Out
Last week I had dinner with a friend who pointed out that working women have lost the collective sense we had during the golden years of feminism; these days women who opt out do so at the expense of the … Continue reading
Filed under Happiness, Management, News, Work
Perfect as Enemy of Good: Exercise
Over the past few weeks I’ve been feeling badly about not exercising. I’m lucky to have a gym in my office building, and usually I can get in 30 to 40 minutes of cardio plus a little weight training and … Continue reading
Can the Balancing Act Drive A Woman To Suicide?
Last week The Times of London reported on the heart-breaking story of Catherine Bailey, a 41-year old lawyer and mother of three who drowned herself in the Thames. The articles in The Times and the Daily Mail both note that … Continue reading
The Myth of the Judging Mommy
Add to the things I have to be thankful for: I’ve never had a playdate like the ones Emily Bazelon describes in her recent Double X post Defending the Playdate. Reading the piece, I wonder — is this really the … Continue reading
Not Julia or Julie
I write a lot about incorporating healthy cooking and eating into the lives of working parents, and I’m all in favor of finding alternatives to processed and pre-packaged “convenience” foods. But I was a little conflicted about Michael Pollan’s recent … Continue reading
