Hello,

I'm a Ph.D. candidate and the mother of a 2 year old. I'm writing up
my dissertation while taking care of my son at home--with help from a
babysitter 3 mornings a week. It is very inspiring to read the
thoughts people have posted.

I'm writing an article on the balance of career and family to be
submitted to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment at the end of
the month. My article is based on feedback, obtained through
informal conversations and a score of answers to a formal survey,
from other ecologists at all stages of career. I finished my draft
yesterday and was perusing the literature to see what others had to
say about this topic, and found Carolyn's article (2007, Bulletin of
ESA), and then joined this group.

The topics that are of most interest here (and in Carolyn's article)
are those that are also of most interest to the people who provided
feedback for my article. It seems as though a lot of these issues
are pretty universal, and don't have easy answers. In developing my
article, I was encouraged to see that both men and women shared a
keen interest in the topic.

Members of this group might also be interested in the articles
Science has compiled on the topic:
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issue
s/articles/2800/scientists_as_parents_feature_index/

I'm planning to cite Carolyn's article in my article in the hopes
that we can perhaps use it as a second jumping off point for further
fruitful discussions in this group.

Sara