<p>I didn’t want to hijack Jolynne’s thread, but it started me thinking… I’ll certainly keep tabs on her thread because it’s already given me food for thought, but I have some questions of my own. </p>
<p>Provided that my husband or I find jobs within 100 miles of one another in the next year or so, I’m staring down the barrel of motherhood starting within the next two or three years. So far, I’ve been the quintessential high-octane mid-twenties Career Girl, powering through nine hour days and working weekends in the male-dominated field of structural engineering. My apartment and desk look like Container Store ads. Papers are sorted and filed, laundry and dishwasher are constantly going, I’ve named my vacuum cleaner Clive and we have a passionate relationship, and everything is uncluttered and sparkling. </p>
<p>That’s… obviously not going to work forever. High-powered job, sparkling house, kids, and sanity: pick three, maybe two, and kids has to be one of them for me. My utterly supportive and wonderful husband once jokingly mentioned that hey, HE could stay home with the kids all day and <em>I</em> could support the family, and much to both of our complete surprise, I immediately burst into tears. (Where on <em>earth</em> did that come from?? I’ve been trained from birth to ‘do it all’! I went to a super-feminist girls’ prep school for thirteen years-- my parents paid good money for them to beat those instincts out of me!)</p>
<p>Is it feasible to work part-time from home as a professional woman, provided I’m able to finagle that somehow? Has that worked out for anyone? Did the respect for you in your professional community wane any as a result of your choosing motherhood AND career? If I start out hyper-organized, will I be able to maintain a semblance of disclutter, or will I just drive my family insane and go all “NO WIRE HANGERS!!” on them? </p>
<p>You’re successful mothers who seem to have not strangled your children, and you’ve seen to it that your kids are educated, productive members of society. What’s your secret?</p>