Life happens on its own schedule

Six years into motherhood, it's still shocking to see how easily my work week can get derailed. Today's surprises include my child waking up sick at 1 am. A furnace that failed to start up on the first cold night. A doctor's appointment that was scheduled to fit the doctor's convenience, not mine. It's so frustrating and yet I am lucky that my work schedule is flexible enough to absorb life's ongoing surprises. I honestly don't know how many women keep the whole enterprise going.

I feel like I've sung this tune before, but I'll bet that it's a recurring theme in most mother's lives. I'm trying to go with the flow and be thankful that I can. Still, it's the kind of week that makes me want to dig into the Classical Feminist Writings Archive and reread Judy Syfer's classic 1971 essay Why I Want a Wife.