Some would say a big "thank you" to Gloria Steinem for paving the way for women in this country--for opening doors that were closed, for smashing through glass ceilings and for the symbolic burning of the bras.

I would not be included in the aforementioned "some" at this moment in time. In fact, if I had a moment to sit down with Gloria (since she is the feminist that I am picking on at the moment) I would say "What in the &%$# were you thinking, woman?"

I wonder if Gloria and the forward-thinking women of that time were truly looking at things from all sides when they were marching, sitting in, and giving speeches. Did they truly know what it was they were signing future generations of women up for?

Now don't get me wrong--I am thrilled to know that 60% of people earning their undergraduate degrees in this country are women. I voted for HIllary on Super Tuesday and will vote for her in November (like my optimism?)...but what I am wondering is, where is the manual on how exactly it is that we women are supposed to accomplish ALL that is bestowed upon us without popping Prozac, over-caffeinating ourselves, running our bodies into the ground with stress...or all of the above?

Take, for example, an average day in my world..which I know is common to most of the women in the world. I get up (usually late because I was up until midnight cleaning the house), rush around to get my three kids ready for school then kiss my husband goodbye as we take off in separate cars to get them to their destinations. I get back home, jump in the shower, laugh at the notion of actually fixing my hair, get ready for work and run out the door.

At my job, I do my best to prove that I am just as good as any of the men there, or any of the women for that matter. I bust my butt at work and do a great job (all the while worrying about the things I should be doing at home). On my lunch breaks, I make phone calls, pick up kids from school, pay my bills, etc., etc., I get home in the evenings and my SECOND job begins. Maake the dinner, help with homework, attempt to have some sort of conversation with each of the people in my house about their days, pick up kids from practice, run to the store, clean the house...you get the picutre....then fall into bed around midnight only to get up the next day and start all over.

I cannot recall the last time I had "down" time. I cannot recall the last movie I saw (Ok I'm exaggerating, it was "I am Legend" and it was AWESOME!). I cannot recall the last time I had a chance to paint a wall, draw a picutre....My point is with all that I do every day to while trying to balance this career and this family, It is still only about one tenth of what needs to get done, and not even close to what I WANT to get done.

Now there are women out there with children who work and probably wish they didn't have to. There are women out there who stay home with their kids and probably wish they could work. Yes, it is always greener on the other side. But aside from all that....when you have a family and you have to work, how do you maintain sanity???? How do you get it all done???? How do you climb the corporate ladder, raise awesome kids, keep your house semi-clean, keep your marriage together, and oh yes...have some FUN once in a while?

For now, I guess the answer is that you just do the best you can with what you have...and you just keep gonig. I personally wish that when the feminists were expanding our rights and encouraging us to set our goals higher, that they would have had the forethought to write a "how to" manual....you know, "how to..." balance your work and your life! "How to" have both!!! I am betting the reason that manual doesn't exist is because the feminists of yesteryear knew something that they weren't telling tomorrow's generation (a.k.a. me and you)....there is NO SUCH THING AS WORK/LIFE BALANCE So...lucky us...the greatest gift given to women of our time is feminism and all its glory. The greatest downside is the feminist fallout which we get to navigate through alone.

Until next time! This is Magdelena....over and out!