Intro to Part I:

A long while ago I wrote a post about the idea that working moms are role models for their children and about the judging that goes on between women including the battles being fought in the, so called, "mommy wars".  Well, I have some updates and some additional insight on the issue that I'd like to share.

Here is the second insight that I would like to share and it is about the fact that we may be role models for other women.

My kids attend an elite private school -- the kind that has a college-like application and charges college-like tuition to attend.  This is their third year at the school and the class sizes are very small.  Therefore, we have gotten to know the other parents pretty well, at least the parents of the kids in our kids' grades.  The mommy war is really raging at this school.  There are a group of moms like me, lawyers, doctors, busy real estate brokers etc.  And, there are a group of moms that stay home.  Most of the SAHMs are former professionals that left their careers to stay at home -- a choice that I really respect but that is ultimately not the choice for me.  Most, if not all, are pretty wealthy.  The judging that goes on between the two groups is fierce and the lack of respect that flows both ways is sometimes shocking.

Even among the constant mommy war battles that are being fought, a mom in my son's grade and a mom in my daughter's grade have decided to go to law school.  One is a lawyer in Columbia so is enrolled in an LLM program and the other started law school fresh last year.  Both have come to me for advice, first about which school to attend, now about what classes to take, about the bar exam, about the job market etc.  Both, truth be told, caught their husbands off guard with their decision to go back to being a career woman.  Both, as it turns out, have what seem to be supportive husbands.  While I'll admit that being a lawyer isn't for everyone, especially given the state of the job market, and I'll also admit that being a working mom is not right for everyone and every family, I am still inspired by these women and their choice to start a new career.  Also, I can't help but think that I inspired them, at least to some degree.  Now, I pray that their decision ends up being the right one and that they will find my advice honest and accurate as they start their legal careers in the years to come!