Mommyhood Today

For whatever reason, how women balance work and family and life has generally interested me. I follow the New York Times blog Motherlode, among other articles and books on the matter. While clearly I am far away from having mommyhood (or even marriage) be a part of my daily life, I am intrigued by how others manage to do it all.

Today, I was confronted with a model of motherhood that is extinct among my peers: the traditional family with a stay-at-home mom. Though my friends range from conservative to liberal, with multiple perspectives on religion mixed in, the one thing most of my 20-something girlfriends and I agree on is that some form of us working will continue if/when we have children. This could be part-time work, consulting, volunteering, continued education, or something else entirely. But the point is, none of us see having kids as our exit from the workforce entirely, though many of my friends envision taking a step back. Of course, this is all talk right now anyway.

Anyway, I stopped by the nonprofit shop I volunteer at to visit with the girls I am friends with. I hadn't seen them since late November. One had gotten engaged so my congrats were to her. The other is married and expecting, her baby bump sufficiently round. During the visit, I found out she leaves work next week. For good. She is finishing out her last trimester at home so she can rest up and prepare for the baby. Then she will enter full-time mommyhood in April.

Thankfully I didn't say anything awkward, but it was a surprise to me to see someone around my age and living in the city make that choice. The other thing is, the nonprofit is somewhat low key and definitely the sort of place where flex time and alternative scheduling would be okay, in addition to having a lot of autonomy over your schedule and work. But, to each their own, and I am happy for her, that she has the option to stay home, that she'll have a cute baby boy come April, and that we each have the freedom to make our own choice.

What do you think? Did your mom stay home with you? How would you handle mommyhood?