Motherhood in all its guises and permutations is more art than science. Melinda M Marshall
Work is a responsibility most adults assume, a burden at times, a complication, but also a challenge that, like children, requires enormous energy and that holds the potential for qualitative, as well as quantitative, rewards. Melinda M. Marshall
But while being a mother is admittedly a lifelong preoccupation, it cannot, should not, must not be a lifelong occupation…Melinda M. Marshall
Working mothers are just as likely to want to conform to a standard of perfection – and just as likely to suffer from their failure to meet it – as their stay-at-home counterparts. Melinda M. Marshall
It is always my choice: to change what I cannot tolerate, or tolerate what I cannot – or will not – change. Melinda M Marshall
If parents award freedom regardless of whether their children have demonstrated an ability to handle it, children never learn to see a clear link between responsible behavior and adult privileges. Melinda M. Marshall
So long as the source of our identity is external – vested in how others judge our performance at work, or how others judge our children’s performance, or how much money we make – we will find ourselves hopelessly flawed, forever short of the ideal. Melinda M Marshall
True balance requires assigning realistic performance expectations to each of our roles. True balance requires us to acknowledge that our performance in some areas is more important than in others. True balance demands that we determine what accomplishments give us honest satisfaction as well as what failures cause us intolerable grief. Melinda M Marshall