Dear Dr. Laura,
I have been feeling for years that I need to thank you for your work. You have profoundly changed my life and my perspective on family!
I am a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom to four children. As a child I was high achieving and at the top of my class in whatever I did. I was told I could be anything I wanted to be. I went to college and got my degree in electrical and computer engineering. I was one of only a few girls in my class. Taking care of my children was not even an option for me. I was going to change the world with my great career! But that's where you came in.
My parents listened to you on the radio. You were always there in the background discussing motherhood and family, and the fact mothers are of worth even if they don't have an income. Over time, I became convinced my babies were better off with me than in day care, and it wasn't demeaning for me to stay at home all day investing my time in child care. When the time came to deliver my first baby, it was time to have an uncomfortable discussion with my husband. He had married me with my desire to be a working mother, but he completely supported me and told me he had always hoped I would change my mind.
For 10 years now, I am the person who raises my children, loves and teaches them. We have had to get creative in order to make it work. My husband works long hours in his job as a paramedic, and commutes 35 miles on his bike and on the train - often in snow and ice. He never complains! He values my work as a mother. Often times are hard. Money is tight. I have family members who consider me to be "just a mom" and wonder why we are "poor" when I could be earning a comfortable living for us. But I am so happy to know my family is built on a firm foundation. We are happy and my kids are excelling in life. I may not be changing the world as a woman engineer; instead I am changing the world by investing time in the next generation.
Thank you for all of your teaching and nagging. You have taught me that motherhood is good! That my kids need me, and that I do not have to listen to what our society tells me to do with my family. I listened, and I know many other young women are listening. You have changed my family and we all thank you.
Kristal
