Not The First Time I've Had This Request

Sprinkled Donuts
Originally uploaded by Incase Designs

Child (after reading a book about healthy eating and emerging with precisely the opposite take-away):  Sometime I want to eat more donuts.  With sprinkles on them.

Parent:  I'll keep that in mind.

Child:  Do you know how to make them?

Parent:  No, I don't.

Child (exasperated):  Unh!  Get a cookbook!

And Also With You

Career Path
Originally uploaded by John and Keturah

Parent (noticing child is weaving erratically while walking to the car): What's going on? If you open your eyes, you'll stop crashing into things.

Child: Nope. I'm using The Force.

New Column: Goodbye Economy, Hello Balance

My latest column for The American Lawyer posits that belt tightening and work life balance can go hand in hand. It's tempting for law firms and other businesses to view balance as a "perk" to be scaled back when trying to cut costs. But done right it's a way to save money now and emerge competitively from the down economy without big cash outlays.

Thanks for all your feedback on these points as I was putting this together, and please let me know what you think.

[Update] Discussion:

• Caryn Tamber, Work-life balance is dead. Long live work-life balance!
• Sarah Randag, What if Firms Thought of Flexible Work Schedules as ‘Balanomics’?
• Sarah Randag, Can Offering Work Flexibility Help a Firm’s Bottom Line?