All this week, we’ve been wrestling with the issues of life and work on this blog. I’ve been throwing out rapid fire posts and questions, which suited me quite well. I’m always more comfortable asking questions than providing answers. The discussion has been great. Thanks to everyone for participating.
I was thinking about how to conclude things, but we’ve discussed too much to wrap it all up in a neat little package right now.
One commonality that underlay the discussions was the struggle to improve one’s quality of life. For most, it did seem to involve some combination of family and work. Others needed more solitude and hobbies.
Disagreement centered around how to concoct this elixir of happiness. Should government and society intervene to lessen the obstacles for parents to work? Or did responsibility lie with the individual to keep it all together? Should men and feminists step up to table or were they doing their share? Should society be more child-friendly or were the kids all too visible already?
These issues must be talked about with some delicacy, because they’re open wounds. The guilt about the kids and the regret about the career are painful for many. Sometimes my posts were balanced; others weren’t. I hope I didn’t step on anyone’s toes. I was experimenting with the best way to get debate going.
After a week hiatus, I’ll be back to give some advice to other bloggers about how to replicate this blog conference model. I found it very rewarding and think others could organize debates around other topics.
Thanks again. Laura.