Now that I’m back at work post-maternity-leave, well-meaning friends, family members, and colleagues ask me how it’s going, often with a look of sympathy in their eyes. I think some of them expect me to say I’m exhausted or I wish I could stay at home. Several have voiced their assumptions in the form of questions: It’s tough, isn’t it? Don’t you just want to cry when you get those texts with pictures of your little one?
In the graduation season, advice to follow your passion and pursue your dreams abounds. But what about those of us who don’t have one passion or a clear dream?
A few days ago, data was released showing that the fertility rate in the United States – the number of babies born per 1,000 women of childbearing age – hit a record low in 2017, for the second year in a row. The fertility rate has been declining every year since 2008, and the 3% drop from 2016 to 2017 is the largest single-year decrease since 2010. The New York Times published an article about the phenomenon in Thursday’s paper with the headline “Fertility Rate Again Falls to a Record Low, Confounding Demographers.” It seems no one can figure out why women between the ages of 15 and 44 aren’t having as many kids as they once did. As a 33-year-old woman who conceived my first child in 2017, perhaps I can shed some light on the topic. Read more
“For me, being a mother made me a better professional, because coming home every night to my girls reminded me what I was working for. And being a professional made me a better mother, because by pursuing my dreams, I was modeling for my girls how to pursue their dreams.”
—Michelle Obama
Becoming a parent has given me many opportunities to reflect on my own childhood. As I interact with my baby, I imagine my own parents caring for me. I understand better than ever the sacrifices they made and the joys and worries they felt. So today, my first Mother’s Day as a mom, I pay homage to my own mom.