Article of interest..."Why Women Still Can't Have It All" - from The Atlantic Magazine

This is a big read but I utterly recommend you try to make some time to read it. Particularly if you are a woman juggling family and professional aspirations or contemplating when and how to embark on this stage in life.

I don't necessarily agree with all that is said in this article. She seems very focused on equating success with a high ranking position in your chosen field or industry and here I am in the midst of trying to understand what a 'good life' truly means, and questioning whether things such as salary and power really has anything to do with it after all. But she comes from a generation who probably felt the fullest freshest benefits of the feminist movement in terms of opportunities and changing attitudes in the workplace so it is also interesting to read about the new perspective she is now adopting based on her own experiences as a mother and as a high ranking public servant and academic.

It is my opinion that one of the biggest issues with woman achieving professional equality with men whilst also being able to choose to provide for their offspring as the major caregiver etc is the idea that equality in the workplace means equal to the traditional male provider stereotype. I still waste significant hours of my 'mothering time' struggling against this ingrained idea that to stop 'working' to be the primary carer of my children was a step down or back in my broader life plan. I also resent the thinking that chosing my 'children' over my 'career' was a priviledge and that while this decision might slow my professional rise, a bit of extra committment and some 'overtime' will help me make up for this career break when I do decide to return to the workforce.

But surely if we valued the role of parenting more, then stopping work in a corporate sense to take on the nuts and bolts of bringing up your offspring would not be described as a sacrifice or a break. I also specifically say 'parenting' not mothering because the role of primary caregiver for young children is still seen as a mother's duty but why can't the Dad be the stay at home partner. Equal rights and opportunities for all, in all aspects of our lives.     

So I think this boils down to valuing the role of being a hands on involved parent. This doesn't mean home schooled children with home made bread and organic vegetable soup for lunch, it just means prioritising the tasks associated with the job of parenting alongside those for which we would normally 'pay' for.  

What say you? How do you juggle the work/life balance idea? Why is work and life so often seen as two opposite states? and why does life so often lose out to work?  Would love some comments (all anonymous if you choose) - think this is a super interesting challenge for all of us boys and girls....(and cheers Kirsty for posting for this link to her facebook page in the first instance too!)

Hope you enjoy the read - look forward to hearing your thoughts too xx Rebecca

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/6/

Mental and virtual tidy up underway....

Performed a bit of admin on my blog this morning - still needs some formatting but have set up gallery pages to feature my completed woolie wonders and those still in progress. Also included a link to my online shop incase anyone wants to adopt one.

www.squanderernomore.co.nz

Need to put some thought into how best to set my online self up.....blog, facebook, website, seller accounts on craft/design e-tail sites.....its a bit much for my scale of operation!

There are so many brilliant creatives out there doing amazing things but also really nailing the whole presentation/ brand/ imagery package.

So my glaringly obvious challenge is to really try to streamline my efforts, work out what I want it all to look like and establish some consistancy. I guess the best way to do this is to really try to lock down what it is i am trying to do or is it who I am? (but then that questions seems just a little more complicated!).

Have had a stab at re-writing my "about me" blurb....slightly happier with it but still requires some brain power to get perfect. Love some feedback but so appreciate all the views/ reads or whatever it is you do when you come visit my blog!

Luck & Love for our main man.

Happy father's day, we are having a pretty good one so far. Breakfast, brief skim of the papers and then off to Extreme Edge for some indoor rock climbing, roast chicken for dinner.

Not a huge budget alloted for Father's Day presents in our house. We have tended to focus on something to do together instead and in this instance we are all off at the end of the month to feed Matt's deep love of boats at the 2012 boat show followed by Yum  Cha or such.

Kids did a stirling job on the homemade card front, even Marshall managed a coloured in "certificate" c/- his new Kindy.

Being the cheap ass I am I couldn't stomach the thought of spending $7 on a card from the supermarket but found the following framed picture at our local Indian Grocer which I thought was a much better buy at less than half the price!

Turns out the lady on the left is the Goddess Lakshmi which means Good Luck to Hindus, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. The handsome elephant-deity riding a mouse on the right is the very popular Ganesha - aka the Lord of Success, the destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.

So I reckon we've just about covered most bases - $3 for all that and none of the indignity of having to line up at the mall for a $16 Father's Day lotto special.