A Dish Reader on Breadwinner Moms

The Female Breadwinner, Ctd:

And it wasn’t because my husband and family couldn’t do a great job. My husband teaches - home at 4! summers and school vacations! - so even childcare wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be a successful specialist, expert in her field, and infinitely better paid. It wasn’t because I didn’t have the skills or the smarts. It was because: I'm the Mom. I want to be there.

I don’t want to generalize, because I think there are some men who have the same compulsion, and I think there are some women who don’t. But by and large, women just have a biologic imprint that absolutely compels them to want to be with their children. As we speak, my son is home barfing with the babysitter. My husband (again: a fantastic father, dedicated, loving, present) isn’t too worried, and will get home when he gets home. I am positively aching; I just want to go home and rub his tummy and take care of him.