Business Class Week #1

Most cultures define family as mother, father, and children. Years ago it was the norm for the mother to stay home and raise the children and take care of the home while the father went out to work. Well we are no longer living in the "Leave it to Beaver" days. As the African proverb says, "It takes a village to raise a child". In the year 2008 that village may include people of different backgrounds (age, gender, race, nationality, etc.). While my parents were out working (because our family needed the two incomes) my village consisted of a neighbor who lovingly took me and two other children into her home. Mi-Ma, as we affectionately called her, was not my only "Caregiver". My grandparents, biological aunts, uncles, and close family friends (male & female) who I called aunt and uncle, all had a hand in taking care of me and teaching me with great love and affection.

I really don't care for the term "Caregiver". It sounds cold and uninviting. If Hallmark doesn't evolve with society with cards for the many different "Caregivers" of the world, we really don't have to wait for them. As some of my peers stated, we can have our children make their own cards with special touches and words that let their "Caregiver" know how much they are loved.

Prof. M. shared that because of the stereotypical definition of what a "good mother" is, she had feelings of guilt because she goes to work and leaves her daughter with someone else. I too felt these same feelings of guilt at one time. So much so that I eventually stopped working and going to college and became a stay at home mom. This was good for me and my family. I DO NOT pass judgment on working mothers.