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Alyson Schiller Muzila '96, left, Julie Schultz Bailit '93 and Jill Bruner Lenhardt '95 get together for play dates. Each has two sons under the age of 5.
LEE PELLEGRINI |
What life is all about
When Jill Bruner Lenhardt '95, Julie Schultz Bailit '93 and Alyson Schiller Muzila '96 get together for play dates in suburban Boston, the life choices they've made are often the topic of conversation. That is, when the mothers--each of whom has two boys under the age of 5--can finish a sentence. All have husbands who supported their decisions to stop working full time and who make enough money to support the family. But that didn't make their adjustments pain-free.
"I didn't fully understand how hard it would be to stay at home with kids--how isolating it would be," says Jill, mother of Blake (3) and Colin (2). For Alyson, mother of Lukan (4) and Alex (1), who gave up a communications position with an environmental organization, "the hardest part is not feeling like you accomplished something at the end of the day and having that sense of closure, like my project is done, I've planned a conference, I've reached my goal."
Julie, mom to David (3) and Eli (1) still works as a fundraising consultant. But with just one client, she hasn't had to juggle work with parenting because she's her own boss. "The juggling I find is trying to fit everything--make sure that my identity is separate from the mommy identity and I do things that I enjoy."
I didn't fully understand how hard it would be to stay at home with kids--how isolating it would be.' |
Her friends Jill and Alyson do volunteer work to stay involved with the issues they care about and to maintain their professional skills. A member of Macalester's Alumni Board and Grand Society, Jill was also co-chair of her 10-year reunion and donates her time to an after-school creative writing and soccer program she ran before having Blake. She focuses about 10 hours a week on these causes. With an au pair to help take care of the kids, Alyson devotes 10 to 20 hours a week to volunteer work. Her passion: environmental issues. "It's just sort of a bug that I caught at Mac, and for me it's what life's all about."
But if that's what life is all about, why did these three successful women choose to furlough their careers for more time at home? "I can always go back to work," Julie says, "but this is my one chance to spend my days playing with my two adorable little boys and creating a world of wonder for them. I have chosen to stop and smell the flowers or squish the bugs or watch the trains over and over and over again and I wouldn't trade it for the world. In the long run, I can say that I have the best job. I am a mommy, and I feel so blessed that this is just the beginning of this incredible journey."
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