Tonight I moderated a conservation law enforcement panel. Now, I'm married to a game warden, and I was a game warden, so I know something about this stuff. There, I've just added a defensive qualifier, feeling compelled to justify my presence on the panel.
One participant said "it's a lifestyle" and "don't come into the interview asking about benefits or time off" and "you will miss all the holidays and birthdays." Another participant talked about how lazy "Generation X is, because they only want to work 8 to 5."
As the moderator, I graciously looked into the audience while they were making these comments. I did not argue. You would have been proud of me. But it irked me.
Isn't Generation X the ones who saw their Baby Boomer parents working their fingers to the bone, who became latchkey kids? I've seen examples of people who live to work - and it's not me or my husband. Family is number one, and any other view on life seems to me be misguided or would at least require relying on a spouse to be the sole dispenser of attention to the kids.
I work full-time, but I treasure my time off, and I take it. There are many, many good old guys in my agency, but I'm waiting for the day they retire and we get can some work/family balance institutionalized.
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