Part of the equation

The nanny is a key component in Nicole’s full time telecommuting job in IBM software sales. She works sporadic hours from home pulling eight-hour days that begin at 5:30 a.m. Beth and her husband have high security jobs in the aerospace industry. Sydney holds two jobs as a flight attendant and emergency room nurse. She describes the binding demands of the working mother. "My dream is to be home with my kids full time. But it can’t happen. I have to work, but my mom stayed home and raised us. It’s ironic. My mom would’ve given anything to be employed in an office, would have thrived."

But her husband told her emphatically, “You need to work.” She elaborated, “He let me cut back when our second child came, but then 9/11 happened, money got tight, …so I began classes for nursing.” Airline officials escorted Sydney and fellow crewmembers to Ground Zero a week after 9/11. She was relieved to have begun nursing, and determined to hang onto her nanny. “Even if I quit the airline job I would find a way to employ and keep Miracle.”