A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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High School Revelations...

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Recently I had a milestone high school reunion. There's really no point in stating the number. The only relevant point is that I had a reunion and it was enlightening.

Our reunion was attended by intellectuals, jocks, popular kids, and class clowns. I like to think of myself as undefinable. The truth is, I was a little of each of them. It didn't really matter though. In high school, everyone found a group with whom they identified.

The race issue complicated things a bit though. My high school had a small amount of Black students. Had we been born ten years later, race wouldn't have mattered as much. But at that time, it still did. All of the Black kids seemed to be a part of a majority group and also a part of a "Black only" group. It just turned out that way.

Either I was too naive to appreciate the differences or I am too old to remember. It doesn't matter now.

Either way, at the reunion, we were all united. We may have been Black or White. We may have been parents or childless. We may have been single, married, or divorced. We may have been happy with our careers, eternally optimistic, or disappointed. We may have lived an average life since graduation, a tragic life, or a spectacular life.

At the end of the day, regardless of our experiences, we were all just glad to be there. And, most of all, we were all Spartans!
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