Do you believe in women leadership? I always did. During my career as a chemist I continuously fought to improve women’s conditions and status at work.
I remember the quip of one of my male employees. “Hey boss, I am a young white male. Why do I feel like a minority here?” The whole staff burst out laughing. But Jim had a point here. In my lab there were a few more women than men. Not that I hired more women on purpose. Qualified chemists were difficult to find. We had to train the new hires. The hours were long, the job difficult and highly stressful with many government regulations, strict quality control and deadlines. Some chemists couldn’t cope with the pressure. Women seemed more resilient. [Jim, if you read this. Know that you were one of the best chemists I ever had. You survived.]
When I started my own career I had two small children and I worked at a time when a woman was asked questions considered discriminatory today.
Who will take care of your kids when you are at work?
The best daycare, not that it is any of your business!!.
Are you going to take off when they are sick?
What do you think, am I going to let them stay alone at home!!
Can you stay long hours and overtime if necessary? Yes, sir, I am a professional. I have the feeling I will work harder than any man here to prove myself!!
Yes, I did work harder to prove myself. And I succeeded in my career and got promoted.
But I always understood how difficult it was for a woman to make it in a man’s world. As a result I ran my the Analyitical Division and the laboratory in my own way, differently from other work places.
Young mothers could take off when their kids were sick. They could come later or earlier than the classical 8:00am. Providing they put their forty hours a week and delivered their results on time, I didn’t care how they manage their schedule. A young mother with a sick kid could work in the evening when her husband was back from work and stay home with the sick child during the day.
Flexibility was the name of the game. With good salaries and regular increases, my employees didn’t mind hard work as long as they organized their hours themselves. As a result, chemists stayed for years in my lab which was famous for its low turnover and reliable staff.
Exhausted by my heavy responsibilities to corporate, to my staff and to the laboratory’s clients, and burnt out by the incredibly long hours of work I imposed on myself, I took an early retirement. A year later, the lab closed. My employees had no trouble finding jobs elsewhere, thanks to their thorough experience and the excellent references we gave them. After being the boss for many years, I am now the good old friend who likes to hear about their family news.
In my new career as a published author, I create heroines who believe in women leadership and have successful career as chemist, doctors, architect,...
As the corporate office celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, the actual officers surprised me with this certificate of achievement.
If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.
BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.
Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.
http://www.monarisk.com/
But I had a wonderful Christmas time with my four grandchildren playing, screaming, running, and having the time of their life in spite of grandpa ordering them to stop running every ten minutes. We have two gay scrooges leaving on the floor beneath us. When the kids run, they hit their ceiling with a broom, or call and yell to "stop the damn kids from running". Thank God, they didn't do it this year, so I will give them a box of cookies for New Year to thank them for their new understanding.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
The nuns played music and sang. But at the general request, Sister RM sang a scene from Romeo and Juliette, and another from La Traviata. Her incredible voice filled the place and gave me goose bumps. 
Here is a sweet young woman who has dedicated her life and talents to the service of God and the needy. 
We bypassed the shopping, rented a taxi and went straight to the ferry for St. John Island. 
Certainly the most photographed and printed beach in the island magazines. 
Notice the soft golden sand of Turk Bay beach.
We spent a lovely day swimming and playing with my grandchildren. 
After admiring the beautiful turquoise color of the Carribean Sea, we enjoyed the day on the Dutch side of the island.
Apparently 16,000 tourists visited St. Maarten on Thanksgiving Day. Can you count four ships?
We had a quick walking tour of the shore area.
Playing with the grandchildren was the highlight of my cruise. 
No shopping for me. I was too busy holding little hands.
Although they had nice beach wraps, not expensive.
The Captain's Pub next to the boutiques.
Too soon it was time to go home to the ship.
But the dear old people left us one after the other. So this year we decided to break the tradition that held sweet and painful memories. 
After a day at sea, we docked at Princess Cay, an island owned by the Princess company, and lunched on the beach. Here are some pictures taken on Princess Cay Island. For the next three days I will post pictures of St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. John islands and Grand Turk.
Older people lay on comfortable lounge chairs. 
