What I mean is.... well, I am currently preparing for my FMLA leave (aka maternity leave). The doctor has said that baby number three can come any day.

Knowing that you will be gone for 12 weeks forces you to look at what you do and ask yourself "who else can do this". Then you must take the next step and articulate what it is you do, how you do it and train someone else to do it in your absence.

I didn't have that luxury the first time around. Ten weeks before my due date, my first decided to speed things up  (four years later she is still an impatient sort of girl). I am finding it incredibly helpful and beneficial to go through this process.

The most important thing that I have learned is that there are folks here that have real talents for things that I never suspected (who knew, Paul, the Northgate Manager, would be so good at writing radio commercials?!) I have also taken a hard look at some of the things I periodically take care of and determined that it would be more cost effective for the company if someone else did them. And, I hate to admit it, there have been one or two things, that upon closer inspection, I realized, don't need done at all.

As I prepare to rush off at a moment's notice, I look around my office and see a clean desk, clear instructions for others to follow, and a host of my colleagues that are now cross-trained on my duties. I know there is grumbling when women take maternity leave. I can understand that. We definitely leave a void when we are gone and others must work harder. But as I sit here, looking at my color-coded new filing system, I wonder if it doesn't do a bit of good too.