Women's careers follow a wide variety of pathways but one thing we know is that most women are not opting out of the workplace, despite what the media would have us believe.  In the 21^st century we've got to stop focusing on the old paradigm of work-life balance and recognize that work is an integral part of most women's lives - it's not about how to keep these things separate, it's about how to weave them together in a way that encourages and acknowledges personal and professional goals.  I call this approach “tapestry thinking.”  Forget that old scales of justice model that has work on one tray and life on the other.  The implicit idea in that model is that we would get things in 50-50 balance.  Well who wants to say they would be happy doing only a 50% job at work or only 50% with the rest of their life? (And then split that 50% up among family, friends, hobbies and self-care?  Yikes!)  We definitely need a new way to think about this.  In tapestry thinking, you can think about your life as an unfolding, evolving story.  Tapestries tell stories.  Tapestries also have warp threads - the core threads that hold the fabric together.  We all have warp threads in our lives - maybe it's family or birthplace or faith or a passion (know any runners who just have to run?).  Then comes the art of weaving - adding texture, color, and richness to your life story.  You did that by adding threads or experiences along the way.  It could be the college you attend, the community you move to, the people you meet, or the job you take.  It could be that life hands you threads - an illness of your own or someone you love, a sudden job loss, an opportunity to work in a new organization or location, the arrival of a child.  It could even be that some threads become less important or even leave a hole in your tapestry - a child going off to live on his or her own, a death of a loved one, retirement.  The question is not about how to get work and life into balance.  It's about how to integrate the various threads that make you uniquely who you are; and especially about how to step back to see the fullness of the story unfolding in your life.  Happy weaving!