Man, I talk about my babies and pregnancies a lot. Sheesh. If I were a reader, I'd be like, "Lady, we get it. Change the channel already." But. I can't help it.
It's all coming full circle in a way that couldn't have been scripted. This is the last assignment for the Capstone, and during this semester, I gave birth to my last baby. And don't be one of those people who says, "You never know." No, I know. Trust me. After a decade of fertility treatments, I can confidentily say that I'm ready to turn the page.
One of my babies, Joanna, was born a few months before I started the program, and my newest baby, Lydia, was born just a short few weeks ago during my last semester. And to answer your question, yes I am crazy.
And like my childbearing journey, my educational journey with Tulane is coming to a close. This isn't good-bye, of course, but it's the closing of a chapter. The paper I wrote for the Captstone is titled, "Working While Pregnant", and it covers the various federal statues that come into play when an employee is pregnant (i.e., FMLA, ADA, and now the PWFA). But it also discusses the gaps in these statutes, highlights some naughty employers who've gotten it VERY wrong, and the talent retention opportunity for companies; where they could do more without being legally required to do so and win the loyalty of their employees and attract top talent.
I already knew how I felt about this topic, but digging further into the legal aspect and legislative history only resulted in my heels being firmly dug in. We need to do better. I've had great experiences with my employers during fertility treatments, pregnancy, and maternity leave. I like to think I'm special, but on this subect, I would like to be boring. I would like my great experiences to be so mundane because they're the norm.
I think about the last two years of my life, and I am overwhelmed with gratitute and disbelief. How did the time simultaneously go so quickly and yet so much has happened? All the love to my #SweetSixteenCohort #NachoCohort. We've done a lot, and, yet, we've only just begun.