Dr. Laura,
As a 29-year-old, female, single attorney with no kids, I stumbled across this article on a popular legal blog... and found it very disturbing: Biglaw Partner Begs Associates Not To Quit Because Of Their Kids
Apparently the advice "seasoned" female attorneys at large law firms are giving young mothers who work with them is this: just because it's hard to be an attorney AND a mom... DON'T QUIT! Just gut it out! We all did it! Just wait it out - the kids get older, and life gets easier, because they can start feeding themselves and wiping their own butts! So, instead of having to wake up super early to throw them in day care on the way to the office, you can sleep in a bit more and go to work because the kids can cook themselves breakfast and get themselves to school. Therefore, the time demands on YOUR schedule will diminish! And YOU will have more time to work, go to cocktail parties, and schmooze big clients! Sigh.
The selfishness evident in this article is amazing and disturbing. As an attorney, I know the incredible demands this career makes on your time, especially if you work at a large, corporate law firm. If you were to attempt to work full-time at a large law firm, there is no way you could have any sort of meaningful involvement in your children's lives. And no, I do not count the trip from home to day care as "meaningful involvement". I almost wanted to cry when the author referred to the Dora the Explorer sticker stuck to the haggard mother's lapel as a sort of badge of honor for women who "do it all". All I could think about was the poor little kid who was left in her dust. Well, she is "doing it all", right? That probably makes it ok.... Wrong. Maybe the little kid stuck a sticker to her in an attempt to remind her that he existed.
Katie
