Me, the part-timer

Tonight marks my last night on the Asbury Park Press copy desk. I'm making the great leap from part-time copy editor to part-time reporter, working three rows over from the men and women who have been my friends and co-workers for the past year and a half.

With all the buzz about the recent Pew Research Center survey, which found most working mothers wish they could find part-time work, I consider myself blessed to have landed a part-time position in my chosen field.

Such jobs are few and far between in the world of journalism. Even better, I'll still be working nights so John, the metro editor here, and I can still do the baby hand-off in the parking lot.


Of course, I won't have the exciting assignments I once had but that's OK...for now. I'll still be writing. I'll still be asking questions. I'll still get to make a difference now and then.

It's difficult to redefine yourself when you're first child comes along at age 38. I just couldn't adjust to life as a stay at-home mom and pretend my career didn't mean anything to me anymore. Other the other hand, I didn't want to leave the little boy I waited so long to have.

Part-time work is a great compromise. Wish me luck.