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Government Leaders Reflect New Partnership in Family Life
Filed under: In The News
Recently, when my husband and I arrived in Washington, D.C., for congressional freshman orientation week, several national newspapers noted the more casual and hands-on style of this new generation of leaders. One wrote, "Former MTV Star Rep.-elect, Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, checked into the hotel in jeans and carried a baby through the lobby."
Upon reading this and other story quotes regarding Sean's hotel arrival, a friend and supporter back home in our district emailed us wondering what other "normal" things the D.C. press would be reporting on?
Jeans aside, there's nothing unusual or special about a dad toting a baby. However, it's probably also true that not too long ago, we wouldn't have seen a young congressman-elect bouncing his 7-month-old on his lap during a semi-formal welcoming dinner inside of the Capitol, as my husband Sean did on our first night in Washington. Equally rare would have been the five male congressional spouses who cheerfully attended the week's spouse events, beaming with pride and jokingly referring to themselves as the "fabulous five." As I talked and got to know my husband's new colleagues and their wives and husbands, one thing was clear: We are not alone in our partnership approach to marriage, family and child care.
From Todd Palin's low-key helpfulness to President Barack Obama's admirable focus on his daughters and family time, we are, indeed, living in a new era. There is no doubt that the midterm election results have set the stage for some serious political battles ahead, but now that the holidays are here, and we're focusing on what we are thankful for, let's at least be grateful for the example of true partnership America's new leaders and public figures, both Republican, Democrat and Independents are giving our nation. We've come a long way.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-02-2010 @ 12:35AM
Sifrina said...I wouldn't have any kind of marriage other than a total partnership. And I know my husband feels the exact same way.
But I do remember my husband's time on the Hill, after law school and before we had our son. I would watch C Span to figure how late he'd be that night. Our honeymoon was postponed by 3 weeks when Congress was in session longer than predicted (however, the Senator did let us get married as scheduled so at least the wedding was not affected). Fortunately, my hubby left that job to find something more family friendly, so we could start a family and parent together. I made a similar job change so I wouldn't have to travel or litigate.
We both work full time and we both parent and we are all together every day. These are our values. Maybe not your idea of "traditional" values (I've been working full time since my son was 6 months old), but definitely "family values."
Your husband has committed he will commute to D.C.; Wisconsin will remain his home. That's nice but for days on end he will not see his children in Wisconsin when Congress is in session. Maybe some day in the future members of Congress can legislate remotely, via skype, only spending a couple days a month in DC (you should definitely pursue this!), but for now I think there will be a hiatus in the partnership.
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