<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>letefk</b></i>
I tend to agree with the idea that "what is best for a child" depends on many factors, all of which tend to get oversimplified because we all tend to judge others by our own positions in life. I am the child of a woman who worked, not of necessity, but because she loved her job and was exceptionally gifted at it (she was a marvelous math teacher; taught calculus). She raised three, loving, highly functional children, all of whom are very successul, happily married (I am the youngest, and married ten years), and raising great children. I work, but in a job with great flexibility (a professor), my sister in law works in a high pressure job with long hours, and my other sister in law stays home. Each of these paths works for that family; by "works" I mean that it is producing highly centered children who are loving, self-aware, doing well in school, and generally well-adjusted.
That being said, I could not bear to live my sister in laws lives, although I respect and love both of them deeply. I could not give up the kind of time my sister does with her children, although I understand that she has an extended family that provides the support and love my niece and nephew need better than she could if she was at home and feeling profoundly unfulfilled (which is very true of her). I also know that I could not give up my own job without a very deep sense of losing my life calling. I work because I love what I do: I have a talent for it, and I believe doing what I do is central to my purpose in life. It is not more central than my children, and if I get to the point where the two conflict in a way I cannot resolve, I will choose my children. But most days, my joy at what I do gives me the energy and strength and patience I need to find some balance between work and kids. I am more joyful and patient with my family, because I am walking the path I think I need to walk. Finally, my other sister in law felt so torn between job and family that is was only a source of unhappiness and friction for her. She is happier, her family is happier, if she does not work. She is an amazing and generous homemaker. She sews, refinishes furniture, and does many other things that amaze me, and that, too, is a calling and a talent.
What matters is that children have to be central, not peripheral. They need active parents. I actually agree strongly with Amy on this. But I have seen stay at home parents that are utterly absent to their children, and working moms that are always present to them (as my own mother was). I leave work early to spend afternoons with my girls. When I am with them, I give them my full attention. I go back to work after they go to bed. I sit with my daughters for every treatment and read to them. I am teaching my daughters to swim this summer. I love that time with them. My girls are very, very well-adjusted, despite the traumas they have had to experience because of this disease. I am no supermom; I am a very flawed person. But the simple truth is, I am at peace with my choices, and I am not guilty about the way I live my life. It is the right path for my family and my kids, although it may not be right for another woman. That, in the end, is what kids need. They need love and time, and they need not be objects of our anxiety and resentment. Find that path, and you are doing just great, no matter what others says about it.</end quote></div>
Very well said, Laura!