I am SO opted out
I’ve heard that some stay-at-home parents get business cards. Here’s what I’m thinking of for mine:
Have you been following all the opt-out stuff? Here’s the current score:
The common sense consensus seems to be that no, mothers don’t (as a rule) opt out from career success; they’re simply given fewer opportunities in most professional settings. That’s probably true, and I would be the last to dispute it. Maybe I’m an outré weirdo (like usual), but I am happy as pie to have opted out of my “career.” I put career in quotation marks because I never really had one specific one. I’ve had lots of jobs (see the sidebar) and I consider that all of them helped to get me where I am today.
So why am I an opt-out-of-a-career daddy? A number of possibilities:
Have you ever seen the Irish proverb “May you have an interesting life!” The joke is that it’s presented as an “insult” — because an interesting life is one full of challenge, get it? I’ve always gravitated toward that “interesting life” idea, though, or, even better, a “creative life.” Sure, I won’t ever be CEO of anything, but I can honestly say that not a month has gone by in my adult life when I haven’t learned something. Of course, some of the things I’ve learned have had to do with removing poop stains from various fabrics, but that’s creative, too. Right? |