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

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.

Reading on the Run: TEDWomen May Not be About Working Moms

Working mom with a baby


Successful working women keep track of important matters in the news. However, we are not one-dimensional. Some of us also want to keep up with celebrity gossip and fashion news too. Even in the era of the Internet and 24 hour news shows and E!, it can be challenging to keep up with everything.



Fortunately for you, I make it my job to keep up on articles of interest and resources to working moms and when I find notable ones, I share them with you. Below are several that sparked my interest. They discuss a wide range of issues related to working mothers from pay to parenting.The one listed below discusses a working mom who was turned away from the "TEDWomen Conference". The irony of that made me want to share the story with all of you.



Apparently, a working mom was recently turned away from a TEDWomen Conference. The Conference says that its goal is to: "[explore] the bold ideas that will create movement in how we think, live and work." Apparently, those bold ideas does not include accommodating working moms.When a mom showed up with her five month old, she was turned away. Apparently bringing a baby to the conference violated some rule.

I understand that babies can be disruptive. However, five month olds, especially those that are nursing tend to happily eat and sleep. Turning the mom away before the baby did anything disruptive seems unfair to me. The world as we know it is changing. Women earn more degrees than men and are increasingly taking on more responsibility at work. Still, we are the only ones who can birth babies. If organizations want to tap into the potential of working moms they need to accommodate them, especially an organization called, "TEDWomen". 

Working moms need a place at the table. And we need to make room for them, babies and all. 

TEDWomen Turns Away Woman With Baby 

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