Isn't it great to be a Wo-Mom?

I am Melissa and yes, I am a working mother.

Whew! Feels good to get that off my chest! Yesterday I attended my first "Wo-Mom" meeting. My friend Dorrie recently decided to create a networking, support group for working mothers in the bay area. The group meets every 4-6 weeks to discuss business topics of interest , but always there is the pressing topic of child care that gets discussed and re-addressed at every meeting. Meetings occur at various locales around the San Francisco bay area. Since the group is so new, so far, there are only about 11 members. Of those eleven, due to busy work and family schedules, five of us showed up for the meeting held at a coffee shop on the Embarcadero in the newly renovated Ferry Building.


Side bar: I love the Ferry Building. It is a wonderous place, very similar to an indoor farmer's market. There are permanent kiosks and booths selling imported olives from Tuscany, fresh flowers and specialty breads to die for. There is real Italian gelato place and next to it a cavier bar. Not that I am really into cavier that much, but it is fun to look at. Wandering down the center of the Ferry building is a treat for all the senses.

Meanwhile, back to our Wo-mom meeting. It took us a while to settle down to discussing the topic of the month "contracts" as we were all busy getting acquainted and talking about our individual businesses. Amongst us was a Qualitative Research Group Moderator, a Grants Writer, a Promotions & Advertising Specialist - she really calls herself a Tchotcke Queen as she can supply any event with any kind of gimick or fun take away item (and you thought I didn't know how to spell Tchotcke!) an Events Coordinator, and then me, of course, the Graphic/Web Designer. Quite a diverse group, but we discovered that we all had similar issues and concerns about how to juggle working and raising a family at the same time. I went, as a favor to my friend Dorrie, but decided to return again because the group was really dynamic, and it was actually quite helpful to discuss business ideas and concerns and feel supported. Plus, such a great way to network. We all discovered that we had some skill or something to offer the others in the group. Very cool!

So, I decided that the idea of the "Wo-Mom" group is a good one and something that I can benefit from. I just find it incredibly interesting that there are no "Wo-dad" groups around. But, then it isn't really necessary, is it? It seems inevitable that the brunt of the care taking is the responsibility and domain of women and that they ineveitably are the ones that have to juggle their clients, their time and their meetings around child care schedules. Women are the ones that have to hunt down good daycare, arrange for sitters and nannies, and in the event of an emergency, they are the ones that have to have backup-plans-to-backup-plans so that they can get their work done at all. How many men have to worry about that? Most men go off into the work place and blissfully leave all that behind. I am not pointing fingers or making any heavy acusations, just pondering the great role and responsibility that comes with being a mom and working mother.