If you're a women and you want to feel empowered read this book. Apparently I wasn't feeling in an empowering mood. My views differ much from Sheryl Sandberg but that could be because I am in a different stage in my life. I am about to start a career and don't yet have a husband and children. When I was growing up my mother stayed home and took care of my sister and I. I am still thankful that she made that choice. Sure our budget was a lot tighter but I was able to spend time with my mother and have a real relationship with her instead of having to be in daycare or have a nanny take care of me. My sister became ill as a child and had to spend a lot of time in a hospital. Since my mother was a stay at home mom my parents were able to have one always at the hospital with my sister and one at home with me. Those experiences reinforce how important my mother's decision was. While I was in high school my mother went back into the workforce and is now still working. After everything that happened in my childhood I just can't agree that my life and my well-being would have been the same if my mother had been working. I do admit that not everyone's situation is like my family's. Their are single moms that are the sole breadwinners for their families, and there are married mothers who have to work because their families need their paycheck. Those women are doing their best to make their family's lives better and I applaud them. I do understand and agree with what Sandberg says about the mother and father should be sharing the role of taking care of the children. A marriage is a partnership and both should be equal partners in raising the children. It isn't right for one partner to do all the work.When I am faced with the decision to either stay home with my children or continue on in the workplace I know that my heart will lead me to my children. Who knows what the circumstances will be though, that might not be the decision that I can make. I just know that I am grateful to my mother for staying home with me and I only wish I could be the mother that she is.
