All this is gold!! There's so much in here to mine and consider.
And I love that in a single post, you manage to link to The Reactionary Feminist, The Deleted Scenes, and The Blue Scholar, among other folks I admire and read. :) I think you shared her piece on homemakers, but Ivana Greco has some great stuff on supporting the fluid and eclectic way the modern worker (and parents) can better be supported with changes in policy. Because yes, this is not the Boomer's cut-and-dry, pension-secure world anymore. https://thehomefront.substack.com/archive
I am in the throes of parenting little ones, and never wanted a "career". I've had many people-focused jobs in the past. But the past few years have taught me so much about myself and am now dreaming about ways I can incorporate using my gifts and desires into (most likely) non-traditional work down the road. I suppose these days there really are more options than in the past. You mention looking at role models, and that has heartened me *so* much to see women (especially mothers) showing that constructing a life of family and work is not a zero-sum game. It might be delayed, it might be very very little in the early years of parenting, it might be remote, or any other combination. But I love seeing the drive of women who have gotten creative while knowing what they *actually* want - and it's rarely a one-track, full-time out-of-home job.
So, these are things I've actively been thinking about in recent years and would be a perfect candidate for your Clarity consulting. ha!
Thanks! I think most of those people I found through your newsletter, which I so look forward to getting every week. It's a goldmine of links to so many things I'm interested in! Joining Substack feels like stepping into a new-to-me library - I want to binge read everything because there's so much good content out there. Your newsletter is so helpful - like the display table at the library! You definitely have a gift for it. (It's funny you mention dreaming about using your gifts because just this week I thought, "this woman would make such a good acquisitions editor"!) And thanks for the link to Greco's work - I'll have to check it out.
And YES to it not being a zero-sum game! I have a lot more to say about this (maybe another essay...) but I think for all its problems, which are many, the internet is also allowing us to return to a more pre-industrial way of working where family and home can be the locus of our income-based work. I think it benefits women the most, although of course lots of men are getting more flexibility, too. Actually now that I say that, I think it has the *potential* to benefit adolescent boys to a large degree, insofar as they may have the benefit of having dad around a lot more if their father can work from home and therefore be present. I'll need to mull this over more.
You're not alone in pondering and dreaming about what life could look like - do feel free to get in touch! I love helping women with their intentional discernment. I really believe that the more people who are using their gifts well (in whatever capacity), the better this crazy world is going to be.
Ah, so many thought trails with whole conversations within them! ha
Thank you for the kind words. I do love the art of seeking out & curating the good stuff of the internet in a "commonplace book" type of way - and apparently others have enjoyed it, also. And, boy would I love to work in some fashion with acquiring, sifting, sorting, and honing great writing. I've had that thought recently myself. :')
I feel like it would be so much fun to gather the writers and readers who are interested in the same things - so many conversations to be had!
If you've been thinking of editing (ish) recently, yourself, this could be the start of a confluence... definitely worth paying attention to in discernment :)
All this is gold!! There's so much in here to mine and consider.
And I love that in a single post, you manage to link to The Reactionary Feminist, The Deleted Scenes, and The Blue Scholar, among other folks I admire and read. :) I think you shared her piece on homemakers, but Ivana Greco has some great stuff on supporting the fluid and eclectic way the modern worker (and parents) can better be supported with changes in policy. Because yes, this is not the Boomer's cut-and-dry, pension-secure world anymore. https://thehomefront.substack.com/archive
I am in the throes of parenting little ones, and never wanted a "career". I've had many people-focused jobs in the past. But the past few years have taught me so much about myself and am now dreaming about ways I can incorporate using my gifts and desires into (most likely) non-traditional work down the road. I suppose these days there really are more options than in the past. You mention looking at role models, and that has heartened me *so* much to see women (especially mothers) showing that constructing a life of family and work is not a zero-sum game. It might be delayed, it might be very very little in the early years of parenting, it might be remote, or any other combination. But I love seeing the drive of women who have gotten creative while knowing what they *actually* want - and it's rarely a one-track, full-time out-of-home job.
So, these are things I've actively been thinking about in recent years and would be a perfect candidate for your Clarity consulting. ha!
Thanks for this.
Thanks! I think most of those people I found through your newsletter, which I so look forward to getting every week. It's a goldmine of links to so many things I'm interested in! Joining Substack feels like stepping into a new-to-me library - I want to binge read everything because there's so much good content out there. Your newsletter is so helpful - like the display table at the library! You definitely have a gift for it. (It's funny you mention dreaming about using your gifts because just this week I thought, "this woman would make such a good acquisitions editor"!) And thanks for the link to Greco's work - I'll have to check it out.
And YES to it not being a zero-sum game! I have a lot more to say about this (maybe another essay...) but I think for all its problems, which are many, the internet is also allowing us to return to a more pre-industrial way of working where family and home can be the locus of our income-based work. I think it benefits women the most, although of course lots of men are getting more flexibility, too. Actually now that I say that, I think it has the *potential* to benefit adolescent boys to a large degree, insofar as they may have the benefit of having dad around a lot more if their father can work from home and therefore be present. I'll need to mull this over more.
You're not alone in pondering and dreaming about what life could look like - do feel free to get in touch! I love helping women with their intentional discernment. I really believe that the more people who are using their gifts well (in whatever capacity), the better this crazy world is going to be.
Ah, so many thought trails with whole conversations within them! ha
Thank you for the kind words. I do love the art of seeking out & curating the good stuff of the internet in a "commonplace book" type of way - and apparently others have enjoyed it, also. And, boy would I love to work in some fashion with acquiring, sifting, sorting, and honing great writing. I've had that thought recently myself. :')
I feel like it would be so much fun to gather the writers and readers who are interested in the same things - so many conversations to be had!
If you've been thinking of editing (ish) recently, yourself, this could be the start of a confluence... definitely worth paying attention to in discernment :)