Having it all

I belong to a book group. We read a pretty eclectic group of books - fiction, non-fiction - it's all on the table.

This month we read "This Body" by Laurel Doud. It's about a middle aged mother of two who suddenly dies in her sleep. She wakes a year later in the body of a 22 year old drug addict.

We talked about the book briefly, but then the conversation moved to why this woman desired a change - the theme of running away from home.

Eventually, the conversation turned to how women view themselves. Most of our group ranges from 39-49, and one 25ish year old. "C" mentioned that when she was in college (mid 80s) the plan was to have it all - marriage, kids, high powered job. That our mom's had sacrificed themselves for family and we felt the pressure to accomplish what they couldn't now that it was socially acceptable.

But, we found that the price for having it all was pretty high. In my groups, most are SAHM trying to find our way. I'm one of the exceptions in that I went back to work first and have worked on an off over the years.

We debated with our younger member "S" said that her generation seems to view that you can have it, but at various points in your life and you don't have to have it all now and you can have some later.

So, what do you think? How do you view the role of women? Has the expectation changed between the kids born in the '60s, '70s, 80s?