Wordless Wednesday: "Push Present"



(Happy two-month birthday to my Darcy!)



Entering the great maternity leave debate...

Having just given birth to my second child two months ago, maternity leave has been on my mind a lot lately. With my first baby I was able to take off the full 12 weeks granted me by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Between my vacation and sick hours and short term disability insurance, I was paid at some level for about half of that time. The last six weeks or so, we relied on our savings to make up the difference.

Me on maternity leave with my second child

With my second baby, I did intend to again take the full 12 weeks. This time, I had enough sick and vacation hours that, combined with my short term disability insurance, I was able to be paid 100 percent of my salary for the first eight weeks. After that it would have been unpaid leave.

About five weeks in, my husband had some legal trouble and was put on unpaid administrative leave from his job. I quickly realized that we both could not be on unpaid leave and still pay the bills. I made the difficult decision to come back to work early.

While my coworkers have made every effort to make my transition back to work as easy as possible, I have to admit I felt a bit frustrated and angry that I was being cheated out of this precious time with my newborn daughter, both at my husband and at the maternity leave policies in this country in general. Never before have I wished so much to live in, say, the United Kingdom where they get 52 weeks of paid maternity leave (at least partial pay), or even one of many countries in South America that get 12 weeks or more of maternity leave at 100 percent pay (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, to name a few).

Upon doing a little research (okay, I just went to Wikipedia, but still!), I learned that the United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t provide paid leave for new mothers nationally, though there are exceptions in some U.S. states. How messed up is that? Mothers in Botswana get paid leave, but moms in the most powerful country in the world are forced to pull together a combination of sick and vacation hours, disability insurance and savings or be unpaid altogether (if they can afford it).

So my question is this, if you are a mother, how much leave did you take and how much of it was paid? Did you feel ready to go back to work when you did?

Change

"With victories over both Miami and Florida this year and a bowl win, Coach Fisher has shown us that change is not something we need to fear." — Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to The Florida State University graduating class of 2011

Nobody said it was easy...

There have definitely been times in my life when things feel so messed up and overwhelming that I wish I could go back to a simpler time, when life seemed so wonderful and full of promise. I'm going through a time like that right now and feel this song really captures that emotion.

Latest Obsession: The Hunger Games Trilogy

Considering I am less than eight weeks away from my due date, I have had much on my mind besides "the novel." Honestly, I'm not sure how long it will be before I work on the novel again. And really I'm okay with that. I have come to the realization that it will be there waiting for me when I am ready to address it again. For now, I am concentrating on potty training my two year old, getting ready for a new baby and getting my ducks in a row at work so I can enjoy my maternity leave.

Instead, I will tell you about my latest obsession, namely The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I picked up the first book, The Hunger Games, during the holiday break and finished it in less than a week (quite a feat for me these days). I went straight out and bought the other two books and have already finished the second book, Catching Fire, and started the third and final book, Mockingjay.

These books are excellent. The characters are rich and compelling, the story is fast paced and gripping. I don't want to tell you too much because I went into them knowing only what was on the book jacket. So I will leave you with only that. I hope you pick these up and I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."

Why I love editing more than writing...

“No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” — H.G. Wells

NaNoWriMo Update

So far National Novel Writing Month has been a bust. This pregnancy is kicking my butt. Seriously. Once I get home from work and get the child to sleep all I can muster the energy to do is collapse on the couch and watch television. And there have definitely been nights I've gone to sleep by 9 p.m. (okay sometimes 8:30...)

I really don't remember being this tired and achy with my first baby, though I suspect having a two year old to chase after and a hubby out of work may be contributing factors. I've had a rough couple of days this week (physically) and now am so far behind on the novel writing that I'm not sure it's worth trying to start. Sigh. Yet another goal abandoned.

There is just too much I want to do in a day and only so many hours (and so much energy) to accomplish it. If only I didn't have to sleep...