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Jory Des Jardins's avatar

Feeling a sense of relief reading this post! I have felt this issue in other ways, having chosen to take the demanding, soul-sucking role that forced me to hire more outside support (and feeling guilty for it); and negotiating time with an employer to handle family care issues (and feeling guilty for it). Like you, Elisa, I survived. I wasn't struck by lightning. The kids don't hate me. The other party said, "Sure." This binary structure is very real, but more so in our minds. Perhaps if we poked holes in the system through reasonable, confident requests we woudn't have to sacrifice one thing for the the other.

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Zack Demopoulos's avatar

I applaud you Elisa! The only way to impact a generic seemingly uncontrollable river flow is by throwing some rocks/logs in it....or thought provoking questions. I know for a fact that women who stopped their careers to spend more time caregiving for an elderly parent (and or children) are some of the most talented people I have had the privilege of working/talking/interacting with. They were significant losses to the organization (some of the employers were trying to get them back when it was of course too late).

I'm with you. I get the lauding of someone's choice....but that's a river going in the same direction same day every day. Nothing changes in society. Let's throw some rocks/logs in the river and ask questions like you are of our employers and government.

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