Working women's juggling act

I would never, never judge another woman's choice regarding career and family, and my objections to Sarah Palin have nothing to do with whether or not she can "handle" having a demanding job and raise a family simultaneously. However, I found these comments from Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus to be quite interesting:

I don't question whether Palin can pull off the most impressive juggling act in the history of working moms, balancing, as she told People magazine, BlackBerry and breast pump. But I do wonder -- somewhat to my astonishment -- why she'd choose to, and I suspect many mothers feel the same.

Looking over my female friends -- educated and accomplished -- it is hard to think of one who has not trimmed her career sails to accommodate family life. Amazingly, I know more women who have opted out than who work full-steam ahead.

This is not what I expected. Fourteen years ago, pregnant with my first child, I listened to two female friends, then high-powered Capitol Hill lawyers, discuss their dream part-time schedules.
"Not me, ladies," I thought, smugly certain. Eight months later, maternity leave up, I was in my editor's office, announcing that I wanted to scale back to four days a week. In a few years, I was down to three -- and my friends had left their Hill jobs. Now I work full time, but not without ample agonizing and only because of a flexible boss.
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My husband is a terrific dad, but the stark truth is that he does not feel the same homeward tug.
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Wondering about Palin's choice does not make me less of a feminist -- just a realistic one.