HAVING IT ALL…REALLY?
There are a lot of articles out there today debating the career versus motherhood issue. And there are a lot of women who try to have it all. But having it all does not necessarily mean having it all at once.
That last line is hanging on my kitchen wall and was the inspiration for my new novel, THE LAWS OF LOVE. The heroine, Livi Miller, is a corporate attorney with little to no love life. Her love life became collateral damage as a result of her work ethic and all Livi’s future holds is the proverbial retirement watch. Enter Jake Cooper, Livi’s long lost high school sweetheart, and her career now has competition from her heart. Livi soon finds it impossible to be the doting girlfriend to Jake while trying to maintain her executive position with her employer and now she must make a choice. If she chooses her company, she saves her hometown. If she chooses Jake, she saves herself.
Now, not every woman has the fate of her hometown resting on her shoulders, and not every woman is CEO of a Fortune 500 company, but every woman today can relate in part to Livi’s predicament. Balancing our professional lives and our personal lives is a never-ending battle. One life is always being sacrificed for the other life and at no time do both lives coexist peacefully. We try to have it all – to do it all – but we can’t.
Reality check. Let’s not pretend that we can leave our newborns each morning wearing our Armani suits and make that 9:00 a.m. power meeting on time. That doesn’t happen. To be honest, most of us can’t afford Armani because all our extra cash is going to day care. And even if we could afford an Armani suit, it would be covered with newborn spit-up just in time for our power meeting. Fortunately, many women are in the same situation so there is a lot of sympathy floating around offices these days – that and many, many, many Tide To Go Stain Pens for those spit up clean ups. (Seriously, every mother needs to keep at least three or four of those nearby at all times).
So what do we do? We do the best we can – that’s what. We can’t have it all. At least not all at the same time. But we can find happiness in what we have right now, which, if we’re lucky, is someone to love us as much as we love them. So forget about trying to be Wonder Woman. March into that power meeting smelling like spit up and give them the best you’ve got. Make them wonder how they ever lived without you while you were on maternity leave. And maybe, just maybe, many years from now, the press will lose interest, the debate will have ended and no one will really care if you walk into a meeting wearing spit-up, because the only thing relevant is you being the best you can be for that moment.
You will have to read THE LAWS OF LOVE to find out whether Livi chose her company or Jake, but how do you balance work and life and everything in between? Send in your comments and let us know your thoughts.
Because having it all does not necessarily mean having it all at once…
In a small, Virginia town where fly-fishing is the favorite pastime and Hampton Steel is essentially the only employer, Associate General Counsel Livi Miller believes she has reached the top rung of Hampton Steel’s corporate ladder. With her alcoholic boss retiring soon, Livi is the presumptive heir to Hampton Steel’s general counsel position. However, in the midst of proving herself promotion-worthy, Livi’s high school sweetheart, Jake Cooper, returns from Iraq and causes long-lost butterflies to alight in Livi’s emotionally charged stomach. The resulting loss of her promotion to slimy newcomer Edward Winston combines with her rekindled feelings for Jake to place Livi on track to choose between her career and her heart.
If she chooses Hampton Steel, she saves her hometown. If she chooses Jake, she saves her butterflies as well as herself.
AMAZON NOOK CRIMSON ROMANCE iTUNES
LISA WHITE was born in Kingsport, Tennessee and raised in Bristol, Virginia. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in Italian language and literature, she obtained her law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.
When not practicing law, Lisa enjoys gardening, spending time with friends and family, and, of course, writing romance novels. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators. THE LAWS OF LOVE is her first novel. She recently completed her second novel, DISCOVERY, the first in her Council of Powers trilogy.DISCOVERY is a young adult romance where two teenagers discover hidden powers and the love that makes these powers great.
Lisa currently lives in Southwest Virginia with her husband and two children where she is frantically writing and dreaming of another love story to share with you all.
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6 pings
Heather says:
October 22, 2012 at 7:36 am (UTC -4 )
Thank you so much for being here, Lisa!
Lex Valentine says:
October 22, 2012 at 4:13 pm (UTC -4 )
Sounds like a great book!
Becky Lower says:
October 22, 2012 at 4:56 pm (UTC -4 )
Sounds like a great book, Lisa. It’s one to TBR stack.
robyn corum says:
October 22, 2012 at 5:02 pm (UTC -4 )
I read once that if you have spit up stains on your bag and on your outfit, that makes it a matching ensemble! That quote occurred to me while reading this fun post. I especially loved the line about finding “happiness in what we have right now, which, if we’re lucky, is someone to love us as much as we love them. ” I think you hit the nail on the head! Thanks for sharing!
kristinaknightauthor says:
October 22, 2012 at 5:14 pm (UTC -4 )
Great post, Lisa!
Lisa white says:
October 22, 2012 at 9:44 pm (UTC -4 )
Thank you all for your sweet words! And thank you Heather for having me! Love your fun blog!