Tis the Season to be Jolly!

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CEO Mom

By Carol Evans

Twitter: @CarolEvansWM

As the founder and President of Working Mother Media I have been involved with the advancement of working moms for 30 years. I am often a keynote speaker on the subject of work-life balance, the advancement of women, barriers facing women of color, and leadership. When asked to appear on major talk shows including The Early Show, The Today Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, PBS's To the Contrary and on hundreds of radio shows or to comment in newspapers nationwide, I love to tell the world how hard working mothers work to keep their families and the businesses they work for moving and growing. I told many of my stories in the award-winning book: This is How We Do It: The Working Mothers' Manifesto.

Join me in this amazing conversation. By the way, I would not be a working mom without my two great kids - all grown up - Julia Rose and Robert Scott; and my husband Bob Coulombe is by my side every step of this journey. Let me know what you are thinking!

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Posted on December 17, 2010

Jolly? Bah humbug! How can I be jolly when I haven't bought the tree yet and I haven't put up a single decoration? I usually have this all done by the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, but this year I arrived home from Beijing, China on the day before Thanksgiving, and somehow the jet lag just pinned me down. Our China visit was an extraordinary experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything-–not even for having someone with a fancy name do all the decorating for me!

Actually, decorating for Christmas is something I love to do–except for the darned lights that are always tangled and half working no matter how carefully I pack them away at the end of the season. Decorating is like an archaeological dig of Christmas Past. The leather Santa hat that Robert made in first grade because the teacher's boyfriend worked for a purse manufacturer and supplier red leather samples to the kids. Then there's the ornaments I give Robert and Julia each year, the date noted in magic marker going back to 1987. Each one reminds me of what the kids were into that year. Horses, Barbie, Pooh Bear and dogs for Julia. Monkeys, snowmen, Star wars, and Simpson's for Robert. There's the real bird's nest that came with the tree back when we were in the cut-your-own time of life. And when I dig really deep into the layers of time I find the ornaments from my childhood, including some that my grandfather brought from Denmark when he emigrated. There's a whole box of ornaments that Bob's mother made for the church bazaar: we bought them for $3.00 each to support the ladies' committee.

This year I wrapped gifts when I was jet lagged, because I couldn't face the Challenge of the Lights. Which means that tomorrow I will face the lights, get all the decorations up, fight my cold, and then put Christmas aside for a day as I celebrate Julia's 21st birthday on Sunday.

I know it will be jolly, and the humbugs will disappear. And we'll hang the 2010 ornaments I bought in China for the kids. A Great Wall of China globe for Robert, and for Julia, hand crocheted panda, Santa and horse which I brought at the Temple of Heaven.

I love Christmas!