After three degrees and a postdoc from Ivy League institutions, then a great job in the corporate scientific world, I chose not to work.
I was a senior research scientist at Merck, after earning a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and a post-doc job at Princeton, studying developmental biology.
I always wanted kids, but I thought I would continue working -- I would learn to juggle it all.
Merck gave generous leave, lasting six months, and I took full advantage of that. After my second baby, I went back to work part-time, which was 30 hours a week. Later, I asked to reduce my schedule further, and I got some push-back.
Then, I ended up with three children, and that was the tipping point. I just couldn't juggle any more.
When I eventually made the decision to stay home, it was a big shock to a lot of people. I had to defend it a lot, both at work and to my extended family.
But as Pope John Paul II once said, "it is a disservice not only to children but also to women and society itself when a woman is made to feel guilty for wanting to remain in the home and nurture and care for her children."
After three kids, I hung my hat up and happily put on my apron... Why? because I was real with myself.
