Every time I write about mothering, in and of itself, not being enough of a purpose for women, I get flack. And I'm totally cool with it.

Here's the thing. I will never believe that the goal of a woman with an incredible education, amazing intellectual capacity, passion, intelligence and time, should be to hang it up and do the 50's mom thing. I think it's a recipe for Prozac. After all, our children are going to grow-up... quickly. And then who are we?

So last week I wrote that creating a life that was defined by only raising my children, "wiping snotty noses," was a cop out. Because what I know is that this is not an OR conversation. This is an AND conversation. We can be great mothers AND we can do work that we love. We can pick our children up from school every day AND make a difference in the world. We can wipe their snotty noses AND be on the phone with a client. Gracefully.

Not in some 80's super power, shoulder-pad-wearing-kind, of way... but in a new way, made possible by the discontent of women in the 50's and the amazing power women of the 80's, and by the technology, connection and collaboration of today. I think of what I am teaching my kids about what a woman can be - ambitious, nurturing, busy, calm, playful and engaged.

There are going to be times when the pendulum will swing. I love the idea that as women, we are constantly able to reinvent our lives. Ultimately, our lives must belong to us. We were not born to serve our children - but rather to serve ourselves, with some cute little visitors along the way, whose lives, by the way, belong to them.