Monday, January 31, 2011

Let Them Drink Milk

I breastfed for 13 months and would have gone longer had my son not weaned himself. I went back to work when my son was 8 weeks old and I pumped for the first year of his life so that at daycare he could still have breastmilk.

I had a supportive workplace. At the time the office head was a woman and had breastfed two children. 3 women in another department had pumped before I ever thought of getting pregnant. I was lucky.

Research supports breastfeeding and I hope the corporate world will pay attention. If nothing else, maybe the laws will: New Breastfeeding Laws.

Women have enough hurdles in the workforce. Doing what is best for our children should not be a hurdle that we have to fight.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Gearing Up To Be Me

Everyday me likes jeans and t-shirts. And goes without makeup.
Everyday me likes flat shoes and tall socks.
Everyday me has a dry sense of humor, tends to be solitary and would prefer the company of a few to the company of many.

Everyday me has to go to a large company gathering in less than 2 months. Everyday me will have to put on a suit, make-up, heels and network amongst the company masses. In Las Vegas.

The company I work for is in a professional industry and appearances do still count. Lucikly, in our local office, my immediate boss allows us to be flexible in our dress code so I get to dress down more than I have to dress up.

Everyday me is annoyed that I have to go along with appearances and wear the right clothes and make sure to greet the right people. Everyday me wants to kick and scream and protest. Shouldn't I be appreciated for my brain more than my beauty? It's the same brain doing the same job, whether I wear jeans or a power suit.

I know studies show that people who dress more professionally often work more professionally and are more productive, but I seem to react the opposite way. I'm uncomfortable in my fancy work clothes. I don't feel like myself.

Everyday me will have to go into hiding a little bit while I pull out Professional me. I used to pull out Professional me a lot more than I do now. I think I must be out of practice. Everyday me is also practical and realizes that it is Professional me that allows my family to live the way we do and have the choices in our lives that we have.

I also know that Professional me is a lot like Everyday me, just a bit more spit-shine polished. Now, if I can just convince Everyday me that being Professional me is no more difficult than playing dress up, we might have a winner.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

What if everything had to fit into 3 suitcases?

This post is probably going to seem a little odd. But then again, I've already mentioned that I am odd.

Over at BlogHer I stumbled upon a great post. It's not easy to read and yet we all know someone that is there or is almost at that point, especially given the economy.

It very much solidified my deep inner choices for wanting to go minimalist with my life and possessions. The fewer things that I have, the fewer things then that I will need, the less money I will spend and the happier I will be in general. I want the things around me in my house to matter. So item number 2 really hit me as important. And the animals. That too struck me as something very important that often gets overlooked.

I had a friend that was out of work for more than 18 months. Luckily, he had family to rely on; not everyone does. So today, also be thankful for your family and your friends that you can rely on in tough times.

How To Prepare For Homelessness

And just remember: this kind of situation is happening to people just like you and me everyday. It makes me thankful for the job I have, the roof over my head, and also makes me feel a little shameful for all of the things that I waste my money on when I really know that I can do without them.