actually, upon further reflection, and I could do it over again, I would offer this advice to women thinking of having babies and whether to work:

It’s actually easier to work full-time while thye are little - they go to daycare, they are in one happy spot all day - this is the time to work, and then, when they get into school, start shaving your work hours to their school hours because this is when it gets tricky for their after school activities and being home alone too much - and then, in high school, believe me, you will be so exhausted emotionally from your teenagers you will be happy to just get out of bed in the morning let alone have a high power job - this is when you go to 20 hours a week - then when they get into college, go back to full time

I have 3 kids, (girl) 16, (girl) 10 and (boy) 4 - my 4 yo takes less energy from me than my 16 yo and my  husband and I are always juggling schedules for my 10 yo’s schedule - he is part time right now and it’s the only way it can work

for example, today, I am spent from an argument with my 16 yo last night of how much time she is spending with her boyfriend, that I need to know where she is and that’s not a crazy thing for a parent to know, that she needs to be home at 10 PM on worknights, blah blah blah…

back to work…really, work hard when they are young and you are young so that you will earn the right to ask for part-time hours when they are older and you are older…

I can’t believe we are still having this conversation in 2009!

sure, come on over/up - but you will freeze - we haven’t even gone into 80 degree heat yet!  the hiking is great!

an island off the coast of Maine, that is…

I wish he would come to northern Maine!

you forgot the option

"who cares if they did - does it really matter in the greater scheme of things?"

ouch - that was a great one, Sandbee

it won’t work becasue we’d have to give ours up too, right?

LOL - this is a good one!

good one - a take on the wisemen, I hadn’t thought of that…

Harriet was confused if she could park them in the compact car space or the high occupancy vehicle space…

Acadia National Park - woods, water, trails, open peaks for great views, a place to rest with popovers and tea - it’s all you need!

my favorite urban park is the Millenium Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts - don’t miss the roof garden on top of the hotel

my favorite suburban park is in Concord, Massachusetts where they re-enact the start of the Revolutionary War at dawn on Patriot’s Day in April, not to be missed!

what’s tragic is that we lost him really a while back when he sunk into an abyss of destructive behaviors - I missed him when he had what really was a breakdown; I couldn’t believe how talented he was, I was a huge fan and still love to hear his music - the only bright spot to this week is they will be playing his music on the radio again - it’s so sad, what a loss of real talent - RIP for certain!

the one I love is a woman with a basket looking out at a boat wreck in an angry sea - so serene a scene yet so much going on - fantastic!  but yes, his bahamas work is spectacular too!

any Winslow Homer