Have you seen the show Mad Men on AMC? It’s about an ad agency in the 1960s and has just received 16 Emmy nominations. One of my favorite story lines on Mad Men is about the junior copywriter Peggy. (The actress that plays Peggy is shown above, along with a poster from the show.)

Peggy has me thinking a lot about working women. Thecharacterhad a child out of wedlock from a guy in the office where she works, and when she went into the hospital to have the child she didn’t even realize she was pregnant. (A bit of denial there.)

She’s kept her baby, but it is clearly being raised by her sister. The child might even grow up to think the sister is his actual mother. Since I was born in the mid 60s and was given up for adoption, this storyline has really made an impact on me.

The character of Peggy wants nothing to do with her baby andseems lacking in any motherly instinctswhen she is forced to hold him. She’s all about her career as a junior copywriter. Peggy is making huge strides in the world for working women, and perhaps because of her “career focus” she doesn’t even want to think about children.

But I’m reminded by Mad Men just how many choices women really did have once upon a time. It isn’t just the character of Peggy that is making a choice of career versus kids, it’s every woman on the show.

I mentioned in an earlier post that it really bugged me when people called me a “career woman” just because I hadn’t gotten married until later in life. You’d be suprised how many people made that assumption about me. Whenever someone found out I wasn’t married they’d say, “Ah… a career girl.” As if I had given up the choice to have children because I had “a career.”

I can see how far we’ve come with respect toyoung women. No one asks a girl leaving high school if she’s going to be a mom OR go to work. But what about women who are older? Is it just assumed that when a woman is older she’s made the choice NOT to have children?

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The kids are back in school and learning reading, writing and arithmetic.

However, some kids are behind in the reading part and there’s a sharp contrast between the reading abilities of low-income and higher-income children.

Research has shown that reading aloud is one of the most important activities we can do to raise children who love to read, but not all children get that opportunity at home.

Everybody Wins! USA, is a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit that is fighting the literacy gap between lower income and higher income children by bringing volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one reading experiences with kids.

Their goal:

…bridge the literacy gap for more than 9,200 public school students across the country. Our goal is to reach 100,000.

Find out more about this worthy organization to boost the confidence and abilities of our future workforce.

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Remember when computers first came out and we were all told how we would have a “paperless society“?

It was a nice thought, and completely logical. After all, when you can put something online why do you need to print it out?

The problem is, naturally, that there are lots of reasons to print things out. Like most people I hit that print button too fast without really thinking if I’ll need that copy or not. Then, I’m often left with paper piling up on my desk which in turn makes me feel more disorganized.

I love technology, but I always look for ways to use it better.I also hate clutter and feel that it adds more work to the lives of busy people. I often read the DeClutter blog here at b5 for tips on how to get rid of unwanted stuff and everytime I do a “purge” of stuff I’m not using I always feel better.

But one thing I struggle getting a handle on is paper. That’s why I really enjoyed this article on20 tech habits to improve your life. I liked the tip that was last on the list: Print smart to reduce costs. This is a big one for me. I often print things like phone numbers or notes without giving thought to if I’ll really need them.

I have one friend that has everything online and is so organized with her kid’s busy schedules and homework needs she makes it look effortless. She looks up their homework assignments online, has one general calendar of all family activities, and remembers birthdays and special dates with little effort. She’s the one I look to for tips on how to use technology to my advantage.

How do you feel about technology versus paper? Does it make you more organized or create unnecessaryclutter?

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One of the most difficult things about being a working parent is the pull you feel when a child wakes up sick, yet you still have to be at work. My job is pretty flexible, but there are a very few days when I must be there.

Today was one of those days.

My middle child is straddling the line between being sick and well. He’s not sick enough to be really sick, but he’s not quite “well” either.

I made the mistake of asking him if he felt like going to school this morning, I couldn’t decide how he was feeling. Unlike my oldest child who will give the question genuine thought, my middle one immediately said, “No, I need to stay home,” and so it was.

Things are a lot easier now that he’s old enough to stay by himself in certain situations. I took him back home (we’d driven to school) and let him sleep for a while. When he woke up, I went on to work for a while since I really needed to be there for several reasons.

I came back home at lunch and took him to the doctor (he’s fine) and took him back home and went back to work again since his dad was going to be home shortly after that. I even accomplished a few things while I was at work, too.

Like I said, that particular juggle is a little easier on the schedule now that they’re older, but apparently it’s harder on the car because I put over 100 miles on it today.

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It’s Labor Day here in the U.S., and I’m wondering how many of you are actually working rather than taking time off?

While I’m (due to the magic of technology) actually writing this on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, it will post on Monday and appear as if I am working. Still, in order to take Monday off I had to work ahead.There are tons of industries that can’t take off,such as law enforcement and health-care. Andfor thosethat have to work todayknow that you are not forgotten in our day of rest.

When I was in the world of marketing, there were quite a few Labor Days that Iactually decided to work in order to catch up on my workload. I lookback on those days and just shake my head. Where did all that work actually get me? Morethan that, it didn’t allow me the time to appreciate what Labor Day is all about.

President Bush said in his weekly radio address that Labor Day:

“…marks the traditional end of the summer season. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of hardworking Americans all across the country - from teachers, farmers, and health professionals, to firefighters, police officers, small business owners, and workers on the assembly line.”

While I might think that I’m overworked now, I know there was a time when it was much worse for workers in the world. Their contributions are what made it possible for me to have a reasonable work day, and for that I have to take a minute and say thank you.

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