Send that broad some mini muffins!

Have you heard of "leaning in"?  Regardless if it makes you mad or initiate a fist pump, I don't care.  What gold for the blog---if I had an assistant I would say, "Send that broad some mini muffins!"

Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook.  She is very intelligent and very successful. She is also a mother of two and a wife.  Recently, she has written a book titled, Leaning In, where she discusses that there are so few women in business executive positions because we fail to "lean into" the conversation or take action.  We don't ask questions or demand more in regards to advancement.  At a young age, we have been taught to minimize ourselves and then eventually spend too much time on housework, childcare, etc.  You know the whole work/life balance debate.  Even if a woman isn't even dating someone let alone married, they may still think of how they will manage this balance down the road.  (I do have to giggle at how she kicks the childless/single woman when she is all ready down.)

I will admit that I don't lean in as much as I should have.  The majority of my leaning comes from just getting a rest. I would say a third of the time, I am thinking of something else to do and not even paying attention to the conversation that I should "lean into".  I am constantly making a list of things to do.  In the Time Magazine article, (Sheryl) has a mantra of "ruthlessly prioritizing".  She is afraid that women are selling themselves short and trying to have it all.  I am not trying to have it all.  I am just trying to maintain my sanity (and leave the house with pants on) while keeping my kids in clean clothes and fed.  Apparently she is doing this too but a little better.  (Christ, she probably offers sex regularly AND has smooth, hairless skin.)

But here is my dirty little secret:  Where I am professionally, I don't want to lean in.  My job is a job--I get benefits and a good salary but there is nothing that has sparked me to push to the next level.  I have worried about how this may look to someone single and childless.  I am not lazy, I just haven't found the same type of position that Sheryl Sandberg has been lucky to find.  I haven't given up on my quest but I am not settling for striving for a level because of the power.  Perhaps it comes sooner for some.

I will admit that I am lucky in the situation that I am in currently.  If I wanted to pursue a different area/occupation, CCW would support me.  We share the household duties-I cook, he spreadsheets, I launder, he shuttles the girls from activity to activity.  We have two sitters that we use at least three times a week on top of daycare and after school programs.  We hire help for housecleaning and yard maintenance.  Some woman don't have this.  I wish Sheryl would realize how lucky she is and admit that her situation is very different than the majority of women.  Last year, she sold stock options of Facebook worth $91 million.  She will not disclose any domestic help because she feels that a man wouldn't be asked the same question.  But I don't see a man telling other women to try harder and lean in more.  Do you?