Different Cloths

I had a glimpse into what it would be like to be a single working mother this week and I am sure glad I don't have to be one. David was away last weekend and the first three days of the week. I had a lot of help (his parents dame to watch Eli one day and Cindy and her mother also were here to babysit), but even so I felt overwhelmed.

Of course, having a job that will not leave you even if you physically leave the office doesn't help. I could not even fully enjoy being with Eli in the evening. Every buzz of my blackberry after arriving home just increased my stress level and I was not able to give my undivided attention to either my baby or my work. I could go on about the difficulty of reconciling a child with a career and how hard it is for women to have it all...but I don't want it "all." This job is not a component of "it all" for me.

This, of course, is not true for all women in the law firm world. A female lawyer from another firm whom we worked with on a deal recently went back to work six weeks after having her baby. And even during those six weeks she dialled in to conference calls. Apparently, my boss commented on the difference between her and me by saying that "those two are cut from a different cloth." That is true. I know which cloth is better for them, but I am pretty happy not to be made of that.