Help me be ok with the mommy track

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I could stay home with kids by all means I would. Why would anyone want to deal with stress and conflict and money and hiring/firing by choice????

Because some of us got married late in life and know nothing but career and this "family" thing is still kind of new. I have worked damn hard to get where I am and don't want to lose my spot.

[Anonymous]

For me it is not that work became less important after having kids, I care about it just the same. It is that my kids are even more important than work. I have an academic job, and how much or how little I work (research wise) is largely up to me, so it is a constant struggle to find the balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I could stay home with kids by all means I would. Why would anyone want to deal with stress and conflict and money and hiring/firing by choice????

Because some of us got married late in life and know nothing but career and this "family" thing is still kind of new. I have worked damn hard to get where I am and don't want to lose my spot.

It is one thing if your spot makes you happy, but some people want to keep 'their spot' just because it took a lot of work to get there...even if they are miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep. Sounds just like me. Every time I think about getting back on the professional track, I look at what I would have to give up. THe benefits ( professional growth, more salary), do not outweigh the negatives ( less flexibility, less time with my kids, more stress on the home life). So I've just accepted the new model as the model that I want. It doesn't mean that I don't long for what I worked long and hard to get, it just that it's no longer the right job for me.

I could have written your post, OP, and this response. Both spot on to my situation.