There's a nasty bug going around in my area. Playdates are being cancelled, children are staying home from school, moms are cancelling their meetings to take care of their children.
The bug has now hit our house. Thankfully, I got it before the Guppy, so at least my breastmilk will work to help protect her. Stuffy nose, sore throat, and a terrible cough. In all the other cases in my area, a stomache bug was thrown in for good measure, so I'm hoping that part skips our house.
Having all of us get sick has made me realize how blessed I am. I work from home, doing what I love, and I'm here for my kids. That's the bottom line, right there: I am here for my kids. That's my priority.
I look at how other countries, and how they value family. I look at how, in some countries, the mother gets paid maternity for six months and the father gets paid paternity for six months. I look at how children are valued in a culture, and how a new mother is celebrated and not just forgotten.
In other countries, when a child is sick, the parent simply stays home to take care of them. That's it, that's the bottom line: They are there for their children.
I remember when I was growing up, my wonderful mother, who worked so hard, could sometimes not be there when I was home sick. Not because she didn't care, or didn't want to, but because she had to be at work. Calling in to stay home with a sick child was not an option for her. I remember once in first grade how terrible I felt. My stomach was rolling, my head dizzy. I went to the nurse's office and she called my mom. I remember hearing the tears in my moms voice when she told me that she could not come pick me up, because she couldn't leave work. It was always my grandparents who picked me up and took care of me until my mother could pick me up when she got out.
Even now, I hear stories from friends who work full time. Stories of being called into the boss' office and given a lecture before they can leave work to pick up their sick child from daycare. Mother's who end up in a bind because their daycare will not take a sick child, but there is no one else to babysit and so they have to risk their job by calling in.
I'm sure that there are a lot of women out there who work in situations where their boss is very flexible and understanding. That's great. But too many aren't flexible, too many aren't understanding.
When did our culture lose sight of the importance of the family? When did our culture decide that making a profit was more important than raising the future generation? When did our culture decided that a new mother should be back at work at six, or even three week post partum, long before she has had time to adjust to motherhood?
When will we see change? We want to see more people like
Carla Moquin. We want to see more baby-friendly workplaces like with Mothering Magazine. We want to see more companies realizing the importance of family, and realizing that putting profits before people is not going to help us in the long run.
And the Bug Goes 'Round....
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