Member-only story
Room Service, Please!
I really need my cheeseburger…
I had a full-time, deadline-oriented job when my kids were growing up.
Juggling work and family life was always a precarious balancing act. Like most working mothers, I worried my kids weren’t getting enough of my time and attention.
On the home front, I went to every parent-teacher conference and used vacation days to chaperone school field trips. I was a Girl Scout leader, and I volunteered at endless swim meets. Once, I was even talked into being the assistant soccer coach for my son’s community soccer team. I knew almost nothing about soccer, but the team couldn’t play unless it had two coaches, and I was the only parent willing to volunteer.
On the work front, whenever I had a deadline, I skipped lunch, brought work home to do after the kids went to bed, and tried to squeeze in some extra hours at the office on the weekend.
It seemed like I was always on the brink of being late for something or other, and there were many days when I got everything done by the skin of my teeth.
So…what does this have to do with cheeseburgers?
I realize I was more fortunate than many working parents. I had reliable childcare and afterschool care and a ten-minute commute. Most of my bosses were surprisingly…
