31 Weeks

Dear Baby,
This is the part of the third trimester that feels like deja vu. First trimester fatigue and day naps are back in full force. This combined with a renewed interest in my job and long hours spent at the office create an interesting dynamic. I wonder what parental leave/work policy will be the norm when you are having your own children and wonder how our society can continue to ask parents to keep their jobs and raise children at the same time. I have always thought that women could have both, if not simultaneously, then sequentially. Now, however, that decision is more personal than academic and I can't help but wish that Utah, of all states, would have friendlier parenting policies.
I can see the writing on the wall for the traditional 9-to-5 work day in an office--this new generation of workers value flexibility and commute options almost above more pay. I absolutely concur--I would gladly take a pay reduction if it meant I could set my own hours or bring my children into work or even subsidize a child care center on-site.
Maybe things won't be that different in twenty years but I hope that parents, and especially mothers, continue to have greater and greater options when trying to balance work and family. I especially wish your father could experience being a stay-at-home-parent or a hybrid sahp/worker. I think you would both enjoy that.
Love (with or without all my philosophical musings),
Mama