Margaret Woolley Busse is the newest 'dare to dreamgirl'.
Margaret's been thinking about starting a blog for some months now, a blog in which she examines how public policy affects our everyday lives, and which by the way, she is eminently qualified to do.
And now she has.
In her post titled "The Meaning of 9%", Margaret leads off with "Nine percent. Usually an insignificant amount...But when 9% represents the percentage of registered voters who voted in a recent annual town election, [and who are thus] determining the course of government in the town", 9% is no longer insignificant.
Thought-provoking stuff.
Within the context of 'dare to dream' there are many reasons to say Atta Girl!, but I'll focus on two:
1) Margaret has made a choice (a difficult choice given that she has an MBA from Harvard) to be a full-time mother to her three young children. In honoring her decision, she reminds each of us to acknowledge and affirm our own decisions.
2) Even as Margaret honors her decision to mother full-time, she recognizes the importance of dreaming, of attending to herself -- which she is doing by carving out time to craft her blog, to formulate her thoughts on policy and politics.
It won't be easy.
In his book 'The Power of a Positive No', William Ury describes what she's doing as learning to "marry the two most fundamental words in our language: Yes and No. Yes is the key word of connection (deciding to mother full-time). No the key word of protection (of identity or self)...The secret to standing up for yourself and what you need without destroying precious relationships is to marry the two."
Please do take a moment to visit Margaret's blog, read what she's written, and to leave a comment telling her Atta Girl!
Related posts:
Psyche's 4th task: Learn to say no
Pew Research Center's Mothers Prefer Full-Time Work
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I love everything about this blog! I, too, am one of those women who spent too many years in the soul-sucking world of big business (I'm a CPA), gave it up to raise my children, went back for two years and decided that, oh dear, I no longer had a heart for business.
I donated my power wardrobe to Dress for Success, bought a bunch of flannel pjs and Ugg slippers and started reinventing myself as a writer, though I've never written anything except thank you notes and business briefs! I'm getting to know my essential self and expanding my views on everything. I'm poor, but so much happier! And my kids are thriving under the care of a mother who is always available and rarely stressed.
I look forward to reading the stories of your Dare to Dreamgirls and any soul-stretching advice they share. I am so happy to know that I'm not the only "crazy" one choosing life over money/power/prestige.
Posted by: Marie Walden | March 11, 2008 at 12:14 AM