From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!CAD:tektronix!tekmdp!janetr
Newsgroups: net.women
Title: Re: re: Working(Selfish) Mothers
Article-I.D.: tekmdp.1749
Posted: Thu Feb  3 08:25:17 1983
Received: Sat Feb  5 05:08:56 1983

mts--thanks for your followup letter. I'm also a working
mother with a very high commitment to my children (I have a
5-year-old and am expecting a baby).  I agree with you
that burnout is a real issue, although it was as much of an issue
for me when my son was a baby and I stayed home fulltime. Whether
you're providing fulltime loving childcare or working at an outside
job plus doing intensive after-hours parenting, you're
putting out *a lot* of caring energy, and it's absolutely essential to 
do whatever you need to do to replenish your own stores. (For me, that
means having some time to myself each week.)

The other thing that cheered me about your letter is the attitude
of tolerance and respect for other peoples' choices that you
expressed. It was especially welcome after reading some of the
misanthropic intolerance expressed by some of the anti-abortion
netwriters, who manage to dismiss any difference of opinion or
feeling by accusing the other person of self-justification or
delusion.