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10/26/2016
Dr. Laura:
I started listening to you back when I was a smart-ass teenager who knew everything!
My mom was a stay-at-home mom, but I was going to be different - I went to college, then business school, and then I started to claw my way up the corporate ladder. I was doing very well professionally, and then I met a man, we fell in love, and married.
I was in my early 30's when we decided to start a family, and it was difficult for me to get pregnant. When I finally did, I worked in my high pressure, stressful job through the birth of our daughter. I asked for, and got, an extended 6 month maternity leave.
The second our daughter was born, however, work just "fell away," and everything outside our family unit didn't stand a chance of being on our radar. I can't believe I did this, but after my six months was up, I went back to work. I returned to the long days, high pressure, and 24/7 availability by email. It lasted an entire week, but it was the longest, saddest, worst week of my life. At the end of the week, I turned in my resignation, and thought "Dr. Laura was right!"
Six years later, when I drive to pick up my daughter from kindergarten, I catch your show. I think back on that week when many colleagues, fellow moms, and other executives were absolutely shocked I decided to resign. "But you worked your whole life for this," they had said. I responded: "No, SHE is what I worked for my whole life." Taking care of her and my family is the best job I could ever have. And stay-at-home moms have the most powerful jobs in the universe.
Karen
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