Kate Dyer-Seeley  

2009 will bring a new challenge for me as I, yikes, officially re-enter the workforce.   It certainly isn’t that I haven’t been working for the past few years.  I’ve kept myself busy as a mom, freelance writer, marketing specialist, and volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association.  But no, thanks to my Gemini roots, I harbor an internal, ongoing, desire for novelty.  This need for variance is in constant conflict with my equal devotion to raising Luke. 

I used to watch friends who I thought were able to balance motherhood and work life with grace and ease.  They seamlessly shuffled carpools and cupcakes and then zipped off to the office.  It wasn’t until my reading group read Perfect Madness:  Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety that I realized the struggle to find balance in motherhood is universal. It wasn’t until the past month that I began my own struggle to find this balance.

My volunteer work for the Alzheimer’s Association led to a new position:  The Director of Public Relations and Public Policy for the state of Oregon.  I vacillated for days, well actually weeks, about whether the timing was right for me to take on this new role.  My previous work allowed me the luxury of choosing projects and clients on my own time.  This new position would require structured hours, power suits, and re-arranging care for Luke.  It would also bring a fresh and exciting challenge and allow me to implement change and policy for a cause I have true passion for.   

Should I have you all weigh-in on whether I took the job?  Leave you hanging?  No, I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise that I did indeed accept the position.  Thanks to the wonderful director and staff at the Association they are allowing me to tread lightly.  I’ll be starting halftime this year, allowing for time with Luke and writing projects.  So here’s to the New Year and a new challenge.  I’ll keep you posted as to whether I’ve found my perfect balance.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am and is filed under Alzheimer's Info, Public Policy Forum, Reading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.