May 7, 2008 2:45

Giving birth in the Port Authority

When one is commuting to work while hugely pregnant, one thinks about these things. Especially because it happened just yesterday (no, not to me, you ninny: you think I'd blog about something as cool as that without photographic evidence?):

A Massachusetts woman traveling to Oklahoma City with her three young children has given birth to a fourth child during rush hour at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.

All's well that ended well:

A spokesman says the baby girl was delivered about 5:52 p.m. near Gate 24 in the south wing.

Now, you might ask what a nine-months-preggo lady was doing in cross-country transit—with her three little ones, no less. I would, too, except that I was very nearly in similar straits. Up until a few days ago, I thought I'd be traveling to Japan right now to visit with my mother in hospice. But she emerged from her morphine haze in time to reach through the phone and smack me upside the head. She didn't agree with me that giving birth on a transpacific flight would make for a great blog posting.

"But Mama," I said. "Someone gave birth in the bus station yesterday. At least Japan Airlines has towels."

So this is me apologizing in advance for what will likely be a boring posting from a New Jersey hospital just lousy with clean towels.

Sphere Related Blogs & Articles

|

May 7, 2008 2:12

Stephen Colbert shreds (and shoots) TIME

Sphere Related Blogs & Articles

|

May 7, 2008 10:37

Tough choice for moms: less pay vs. less time

In the Cullen household, Mother's Day is known as Sunday. As in the day Mommy does the laundry, the food-shopping and cooks a big batch of something we eat until we're sick of and throw out the following Sunday. As in the day Daddy plays a matinee and sometimes a concert. Oh, I bet I'll get a funny card or two, and my sisters are plotting a way to get us out for a kid-free lunch. But Sundays are precious in my work-jammed week, and the laundry doesn't do itself.

A new CareerBuilder survey says 43% of working moms would take a pay cut if it meant they could spend more time with their kids. Over a third would be willing to give up 10% or more. And 51% of working moms whose significant other also works say they'd leave their job if the S.O. made enough money to support the entire family.

Me, it's not so simple. It's not so much that I need more face time with my kid and kid-to-be. There's only so long one can keep up one's end of a running metaphysical dialogue on who's more scared of who, the lion or the bear. It's just that I need more time. More time to look at color swatches for my little girl's new room. More time to clear the yard of basset poo. More time to pay bills, sort photos, try out that new recipe for Thai noodles.

CareerBuilder says "more than 25% of working moms are dissatisfied with their work/life balance." It suggests these five steps toward a better balance; the second one might not have occurred to you, while the others seem to presume working moms lack working brain cells (no, really, we're trying not to slow down or share responsibilities).

1. Sell your boss on a more flexible work schedule - Start by contacting your human resources department or consulting the employee manual to determine whether your company has a telecommuting program already in place. If one exists, you can build your proposal on actual policies.

2. Keep one calendar – Unfortunately it's often easier to cancel on your child than on a potential client. Scheduling business and family obligations on the same calendar will lessen your chances of forgetting a
personal commitment when you're planning work activities. It will also help you avoid over-scheduling and alert you if your commitments are unbalanced.

3. Make time for family – Schedule activities for only your family on the weekends and when possible during the week. Also, try to schedule a few minutes each day to call your children to talk about their school day as well as plans for the evening.

4. Slow down - Stop and enjoy the activities and people around you, both inside and outside the office. Whenever possible, schedule time between meetings and leave your evenings free so you can refuel throughout and at the end of each day. Resist the urge to bring too many projects home over the weekends.

5. Share responsibilities - No matter how efficient you are, there is only so much you can accomplish in one day. If you're a manager, make sure that you are delegating appropriately instead of trying to do everything yourself. Doing so will reduce your workload and help your staff build their skills.

Sphere Related Blogs & Articles

|

May 7, 2008 9:59

Is the slowdown forcing you back to work?

Here's an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal today: apparently,

The ailing economy is helping to ease the nursing shortage.

Why? Simple:

With house prices falling and the cost of gasoline and food rising, many nurses are going back to work, in some cases to make up for the income of a spouse who has lost a job. Hospitals say part-time nurses are taking on extra shifts. And nursing schools are seeing an increase in people applying for refresher courses on the ins and outs of modern hospitals. Some older nurses are putting off a planned retirement.

This made me wonder if the economic slowdown—note how I'm conceding to economists' strict (and Bush's delusional) definition of what is and isn't a recession—is forcing other moms back to work. Because, let's face it, the vast majority of nurses are women. I'm sure each has her personal reasons for halting work, but I wager many, like my sister, did so to stay home and raise children. If her husband lost his job, you bet your scrubs she'd be back in a pediatric cancer ward in no time.

That's where nurses are in luck; their skills are in such demand that they can unpause their careers practically anytime. What about you? Any stay-at-home parents forced to return to jobs by the price of Wonderbread? Or part-timers going full-time? Freelancers going 9-to-5?

Sphere Related Blogs & Articles

|