Time to grow up

I was a child of the 70s; the era of burning bras, Equal Rights Amendment and the Enjolie woman (remember her? She could "bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan and never let him forget he's a man"). I vowed I would never depend on a man to support me. I wrote a paper in college entitled "Roles were meant to be broken" which hypothesized that if men and women shared equally in the child raising, children would suffer less trauma in childhood (no need to break away from the more dominate parent to identify with the same sex parent) resulting in a more harmonious relationship between men and women as they become adults. I went to law school thinking I would be a big powerful attorney, marry another big powerful attorney and raise our kids together (with the help of a nanny of course!). Then something happened to me after law school and a couple of years of practice. All of a sudden I wanted to be June Cleaver (or to use a 70s mom--Carol Brady!) I don't know whether it was disgust with the corporate world, hormones, or my upbringing, all I know is when my first son arrived, I could not leave him. At 31 years old my life was turned upside down by 6 lbs of flesh with big brown eyes!

Enter Trevor and exit Danielle's plan for life. I must say that everyone (including me) was surprised at how I took to motherhood. I loved being a mom and I was thrill 25 months later when Ross was born. Life as a mother of two very bright young boys was exciting in ways I never thought imaginable. My divorce when Ross was 2 did put a damper on things, but luckily I had child support and alimony that allowed me to stay home until Ross went to pre-K. Even when I did have to go back to work, I was fortunate that my ex paid 100% of the boys expenses so I was able to take a job teaching. I taught for 5 years and it was perfect while the boys still needed a lot of my attention. When we moved to Atlanta, I made a deal with the ex to resume alimony for a year so I could get everyone adjusted. Well, the year is up and it is time for Danielle to go back into the jungle and she is scared! Tomorrow I will write about those fears.