Current events commentary
At Working Parent Stories we have a single focus; encouraging working parents who are committed to their kids and their careers. Since the beginning of time, most parents have needed to work, but it's a relatively new reality in many parts of the world to have men and women collaborating side-by-side as peers in the workplace. Norms continue to shift as expectations and opportunities for working parents evolve and the value of increased diversity in the workplace continues to reveal itself in new and interesting ways.
When we become parents, we take on the significant responsibility to nurture another human being. And when parents are able to make contributions beyond their own families, they further strengthen their children, families, and communities. This assertion has been exemplified recently via the value delivered by working parent Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. Judge Aquilina, a mother to five children and a grandmother, has presided over the sentencing of convicted criminal Larry Nassar, and she is credited with creating an environment that gave the victims the space they needed to tell their stories. As CNN anchor Michaela Pereira pointed out earlier today, Judge Aquilinia enabled the young women victims "to go from not being heard and believed to being heard, seen, validated, and believed." Judge Aquilina is 59 years old. Over the years it's possible, and maybe even probable, that she's had at least a few days when she may have felt like she had taken on too much as she balanced family and professional responsibilities. But the value of her most recent contributions are impossible to ignore. They enable us to clearly recognize that her extra effort has resulted in strengthened victims, families, and communities. Her work reminds each of us why our own work can be so important. It's impossible to know where our career paths will lead us, but it's encouraging when we are reminded that when we strive to apply our skills and use them to do the right thing, we are best positioned to make positive contributions. The work we do, and the examples we set, make a difference. Often progress occurs and we don't even realize it. When we're lucky, we can see the differences we make. Either way, the contributions matter.
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Submitted by Kelly Coon Throughout the day, I wear a slew of different hats. I'm a mom to three boys and a rescue pup, a wife, a writer, an editor, and as of November of 2017, an author with a book deal from Penguin Random House. I'm over the moon to report that my first young adult fantasy is scheduled to be published in the fall of 2019. It recounts the tale of a 16-year-old healer's apprentice who must save a dying Sumerian king or her little sister will be buried alive to serve him in the Netherworld. My sons say it's spooky, but cool. After many years of dedicated work, it's thrilling to be able to say that the book (and its sequel) will be published. It's a lifelong dream fulfilled. A bucket-list item I can check off my list. But this excitement pales compared to the gift I received on Christmas morning. My 10-year-old son, Brady, made me save his gift for last. With bright eyes, he watched me intently as I tore into the package. To my surprise, nestled with the greatest of care inside a little box, was a Harry Potter snitch bookmark, a gift he'd given because, in his words, "Now, you're an author like J. K. Rowling." It's a trinket I will treasure every day of my life. For in that moment, he hadn't just recognized me as his mom, or his dad's wife, or the crazy person running around doing all the things I do on a daily basis; he'd seen my innermost passion, had recognized it, and had reached across from himself to me to express his shared joy in my journey. Nothing will ever touch that.
Pointer to a video about Rachel Freier Some parents have a lot of children. Some parents follow religious traditions. And some parents have demanding jobs. This parent broke the mold when she combined all three. Watch this video (~6 min) to learn more about her impressive story on the Megyn Kelly TODAY show.
Sisters First was written by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush
Lately I've been watching YouTube videos while exercising, and recently I stumbled across some very entertaining segments featuring the Bush Twins, Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, daughters of former president George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush. These young women (now 36) have been on tour promoting their new book Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life. They are highly entertaining, and I especially enjoyed their Nov 8, 2017 interview at the Reagan Library.
After watching a number of their interviews, I started to wonder if I really needed to read the book, but finally decided to buy it in an effort to encourage them to keep the stories coming. And I'm glad I did. It's entertaining, informative, and touching, and there are quite a few stories in the book that haven't been shared via the interviews. The reason I mention it within the context of Working Parent Stories is that I think it provides a valuable example of how a parent's career can not only enhance a child's life, but how it can shape it as well. It's probably not surprising that these young women's lives have been shaped by their experiences as "first daughters", but their stories seem to present a suprising case for the value a working parent's career can provide to his or her children. The interviews left me wondering if their childhoods were almost too good to be true, and while watching them I even started to feel a little like a slacker parent, but the book does a great job of painting a more well-rounded picture of their family life and a portrait that I personally found encouraging and inspiring. This is a collection of stories that are likely to encourage working parents everywhere. If you ever wonder if your career is helping your kids, I recommend you read this book or at least watch one or more of the videos. The stories are likely to bring you comfort and they may even inspire you to find new ways to be sure that your career is influencing and shaping your own children in a positive way. Happy reading!
Submitted by Susan Sarate
As a wife and mother to two kids, I've always wanted the best for my family. I was raised by a strong mother and great father and feel so thankful that I grew up in a happy home. My mom, who raised me back in the 70s, convinced me that when a mom worked the kids lost out and the mother would eventually be filled with regret. I believed her. Why wouldn't I? She was a great mother and full of fun. She made our lives fun. The thing is, back in 2006, just as my own family was taking shape, she died. She didn't live long enough to answer my questions, understand my family dynamics, or witness the changes that have occurred over the last ten years.
Pointer to an inspiring blog post by Mary-Claire King on the Huffington Post UK Read Dr. Mary-Claire King's blog post titled "The Week My Husband Left and My House was Burgled I Secured a Grant to Begin the Project that Became BRCA1" published on Sep 14, 2017.
Submitted by Theodosia Wicktor Ahern I'm 80 years old and raised three sons. Unlike most women my age, I worked and went to school while they were growing up. I'm sure that my work helped them become the strong, self-reliant and honorable men they are today. All three of them have married strong independent women who worked while they raised their children, and all three of my boys turned out to be excellent home chefs too. It's probably because they had a working mother.
My sons were always interested in what I was doing, or where I was working. I think that contributed to their respect for women and appreciation for family. They turned out well in spite of, or maybe partly because of, the roles I had outside our home. Submitted by Patrick Hickey, Jr The other day I was thinking about the fact that my dad had 12-year-old twin boys at my age. My parents spent their 20s working to provide for our family and raising my brother and me, while I spent my 20s going to college and establishing my career. Now in my early thirties, Josie Ann, my first child, is only five months old. My parents taught me so many valuable lessons, and I hope that I am able to teach my daughter a lot of them too. As my wife and I raise our little girl, we want to try to give her as many opportunities as we can while instilling some strong values. We want her to know that ...
Pointer to LinkedIn article by Indra Nooyi Read article (Lesson #7 is about being a working parent)
Indra Nooyi is Chairman and Chief Executive Officier of PepsiCo and a graduate of Yale. Submitted by Bruce Lundeby My mother is a teacher. She’s from a family of teachers. A family of teachers in spite of her father completing only the 4th grade. My mother expected to go to the one-year normal college teacher program and teach at a rural one-room schoolhouse. Instead, her high school counselor suggested she might attend the standard two-year program so she could be certified to teach in city schools. Mom was apprehensive about telling her father of the idea. But, when she did, he said “that sounds like a good idea”. I’ve heard that story a more than a few times. In fact, it was told again just yesterday, as I’m visiting my mom at her retirement home. When I was about 12, my mom’s two-year teaching degree was limiting some of her opportunities at work. So, she went back to college and completed a four-year degree. It was pretty cool to help dad with the preparations to celebrate her graduation. To help my father who never went to college. Years later, I married a teacher myself. She reached a point in the path of her career where she was not really filling her potential. So, she went back to college to get a graduate degree enabling her to take a more specialized teaching role. What was the cost to our children? We watched some cooking shows together as father and daughters and learned how to make reasonably good egg noodles, and pretty poor stir fry. We learned to make terrible doll clothes on the sewing machine, but pretty good ones from a circular knitting machine. Best of all, our daughters learned they can build a playhouse. A real playhouse / garden shed. I guess the cost was not too great. If there was something missing from my childhood due to mom's time focused on work and university, I'm not aware of what it could be. Maybe my attitude of expecting to find my own food, and if someone else decides to cook what a blessing that is, rather than having an expectation of a hot meal ready for you. My older daughter went back to college for a graduate degree after getting married so as to advance her career. My younger daughter is thinking about doing the same. How much came out of a father encouraging a daughter to take on a more challenging career, and a husband and father encouraging a wife and mother to even further advance that career.
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