Thought many of you might enjoy this. Sincerely, Pat in SNJ
> ----- Original Message -----
> A few months ago, when I was picking up the children at school,
> another mother I knew well rushed up to me. Emily was fuming
> with indignation.
>
> "Do you know what you and I are?" she demanded. Before I could
> answer (and I didn't really have one handy) she blurted out the
> reason for her question.
>
> It seemed she had just returned from renewing her driver's license
> at The County Clerk's office. Asked by the woman recorder to state
> her occupation, Emily had hesitated, uncertain how to classify
> herself.
>
> "What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job, or
> are you just a.....?"
>
> "Of course I have a job," snapped Emily. "I'm a mother."
>
> "We don't list 'mother' as an occupation . . . 'housewife' covers
it,"
> said the recorder emphatically.
>
> I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same
> situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously
> a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high-sounding
> title like "Town Registrar" or "Official Interrogator".
>
> "And what is your occupation?" she probed.
>
> What made me say it, I do not know. The words simply popped out.
> "I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and
> Human Relations."
>
> The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair, and looked up as
> though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly,
> emphasizing
> the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pompous
> pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official
> questionnaire.
>
> "Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do
> in your field?"
>
> Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself
reply,
> "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't) in the
> laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and
> out).
> I'm working for my Masters (the whole darned family) and already have
> four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most
> demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?) and I
> often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more
> challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are in
> satisfaction rather than just money."
>
> There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
> completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the
> door. As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new
> career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
> Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (6 months) in the
> child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
> I felt triumphant! I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had
> gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and
> indispensable to mankind than "just another mother".
>
> Motherhood...what a glorious career. Especially when there's a
> title on the door.
>
> Send this to another Mother you know. Whether a stay at home
> Mom or a career Mom, we should all carry this title.
>
>
> Peace be still...
> Mother Earthy
>
>
>
>
>
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