There would be no story of heartbreak from Julie tonight. Instead, we all were trying to act like it was nothing out of the ordinary that she had seen fit to bring her new love interest to dinner. That is, until said love interest got up to go to the restroom.

“Ok, I know you’re newly involved and whatnot, but no one brings their other half to Thursday night!” Erin, the workaholic of the group, was never one to sugarcoat words.

“What?” Julie asked innocently, “It is girl’s night. Alex is a girl”. We were all trying to be as supportive as possible of Julie’s decision to ‘try something new’, but that was when we could hear about it, not watch the PDA-filled love fest over the chips and salsa.

“Well, I didn’t pry my baby girl off my boob just to come here and watch your new girlfriend all over yours!” Tabitha said harshly. She had gotten pregnant only a couple of months after her wedding, and was now a fairly new mom in addition to being a fairly new wife. Everyone knew that she was a little testy because she was still nursing and couldn’t have more than 1 glass of wine.

Written by Debbie Panell

Today’s working woman, particularly working mother’s oftentimes qualify as the ringmaster of a three ring circus. And it doesn’t particularly matter if you work in a traditional office, or at home. The days of Donna Reed are no longer here. We do not vacuum in pearls and prepare gourmet meals and open the door for our husbands when they arrive home with a freshly ironed dress on and a smile. My husband would likely have a heart attack if I did that- out of pure shock!

In Ring One we have Work. Whether you have to be in an office at 8 am sharp, or have the leniency to begin your day when you please, you still have obligations to meet. I am fortunate to work from home. As a writer, you would think I sit at the computer when inspiration hits, a profound piece of knowledge that must escape my head to the “paper” and release itself for public approval. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most days, I am at my computer by 7am. Typically, I don’t get totally off before 9 or 10 pm. I have an inbox full of requests for articles, all with deadlines. Various IM programs flashing their blinking screams with editors checking in on a nearly hourly basis to see how I’m doing. I often feel like telling them every minute I spend replying to them takes away time from writing, but, just as in an office, you can’t tell you boss that! I have phone calls to make, interviews to conduct, and research to do. All while trying to keep the one year old from pulling the keyboard off my desk!