In my old job I used to edit consulting reports and root cause analyses for hospitals seeking to improve or fix medication safety issues. Inevitably if there was a problem or incident, one of the contributing factors was lack of staff preparedness.
In my old job, we looked at broken or failing systems and tried to dig to the root causes so we could adapt the system.
So as I drive along the interstate today, barely recovered from one of the worst nights in sleep history for my boys, I begin to think.
Uh oh.
What are the root causes of our family system issues? Well, for sure we have a lack of redundancy (i.e., no back up system/person) in many systems around here. I'm sure regular readers are tired of me beating that drum so I'll focus in other areas.
Was I prepared to become a wife and mother? Honestly, apart from the ovaries and mammaries?
It would appear, looking back, I was not. I was put in math and science classes, foreign language classes. I went to a feminist boarding school where I worked on Capitol Hill. I have 2 bachelors and a masters. It would appear the expectation was for me to live in a big big world doing big big things.
Additionally, my parents divorced when I was 13. Lots of chaos and convenience food around our home.
I seem to lack any textbooks or life experiences that might lend a hand when it comes to nutritious meal planning, stain removal, or efficient pantry stocking.
And so I am no good at this. I was not prepared. Organic chemistry and health care policy really don't tie into the home arts so directly.
Is it any wonder Martha Stewart has made millions? There is a whole generation of us out there. Women who want to be just as successful in the kitchen as they are in the conference room. We are readers, thinkers, possibly over thinkers. We can DO. But we also thrive on results and success, orderliness and schedules, reason and thinking. Not the kind of thing baby humans attain until about age 9 or 10.
And as I ponder a PhD in human factors engineering, I wonder if I really just need a 7th grade home ec text book and the quizzes that go along with it.
You see....I couldn't just say I wanted the book. I had to ask for the quizzes too. Gotta know where I stand, get my grade.
Obviously the staff here was not prepared for this role.