Sunday, March 16, 2008

learning to fly

Things are popping right now, in a good way. I have a job interview tomorrow (on the phone, ack), three creative projects in the pipeline, and a much sunnier outlook on my future. It's good to be reminded that we're all in this thing together, and that's what happened for me last week. Accidental meetings turned into impromptu road trips. I made new friends, reconnected with old ones, had loads of conversations about stuff which really interests me, and just felt so plugged in. The energy of the conference and the people around me reminded me that there is a whole world out there of people, ideas, activities, and projects for me to be a part of, I just need to reach out for it.

Of course the problem is also this: single parenthood. The trick is to find a balance between private life, work life, parenting life, social life, home life, travel life...and it's never easy. Mind you I am NOT complaining. Part of learning to fly is also learning to land, learning to make a good nest, learning to feed the little chicks.

Watching people talk today on Twitter about the dearth of women (well maybe dearth is harsh, but the relatively low presence) in social media leadership roles, and I want to scream: that's because we're MOTHERS! Sure, not all of us. But don't you guys forget for a minute that while you're off at the conference, someone's home with the kids. And she's too busy doing laundry and cooking up macaroni and cheese to take on a leadership role. Maybe later, when they've gone off to college...

In other news, it's Sunday, the windows are open, the dog puke has been cleaned off the carpet, and I need lunch.

3 comments:

Ophelia Chong said...

i had the same conversation yesterday with friends. regardless that if you have a partner, the female ends up coming home from work and cooking and cleaning. we take on dual roles and it's not debated.

good luck on the interview. :O)
and i love your flickr work.

:O)
ophelia

Sarah said...

thanks ophelia, that's high praise coming from an artist.

Greg Turner said...

I once worked 14 hour days at the bleeding edge of e-commerce and community technologies. Now I leave work at 5, come home and make good, delicious food for family. I'm a boy, but I've never been happier.

Anyway, I agree on the central point: it's tough to be a galavanting gadfly when there are people depending on you. But then, those are choices all of us must make in life.